White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover
by White Hunter
Summary: This is my first attempt at making a Watership Down Crossover. A band of wolves and wild-dogs escape a danger that was to befall upon their territory and are now searching for a new home to call their own. R@R please.
1. Chapter 1

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

Hey people, I just thought of trying out a Watership Down crossover story. I have a few characters that I've chose for my story already, but I need ideas for some of the other characters. I hope you enjoy the story and help by giving me a few ideas for some of the characters within the story. Some of the characters that are human will have a dog form so it's okay if you give me a human character and tell me what kind of dog form that you want them to have.

List of characters

Hazel: Balto

Fiver: Toboe (Wolf's Rain)

Bigwig: Tiger (Monster Rancher)-Extra: Swiftkill (Black Blood Alliance)

Pipkin: Mel (Ginga Densetsu Weed)

Blackberry: Thomas H. Norstein (Digimon Data Squad) (In Border Collie form)

Dandelion: Rocket (Ginga Densetsu Weed)

Silver: Exile (Road Rovers: In his original dog form)

Holly: Ben (Ginga Nagareboshi Gin)

Thearah: Akela (Jungle Book)

Hyzenthlay: Jenna (Balto)

Woundwort: Ideas open

Blackavard: Ideas open

Clover: Cross (Ginga Nagareboshi Gin)

Kehaar: Braviary (Pokemon Black and White)

Cowslip: Ideas open

Campion: Ideas open

El-ahrairah: White Fang (The Legend of White Fang)

There might be a few extras that I will think of adding to the story, but so far I'll go along with what I have for now.

Chapter 1: The Blessing of White Fang-rah

_Long ago, the great Frith made the world. He made all the stars and the world lived among the stars. He made all the plants and animals, and at first made all of the animals the same. Now among the animals was White Fang-rah, the prince of wolves and wild dogs. He had many friends and they all ate grass together, but after a time White Fang's children began to scatter everywhere. Multiplying and eating as they went until there was no grass left for the other animals. Lord Frith soon spoke to White Fang of this matter._

"_Prince Wolf; if you cannot control your people then I will find ways to control them." Frith warned the young wolf-dog._

_But prince White Fang would not listen and said to Frith: "My people are the strongest in the world."_

_White Fang soon walked away with his tail held high in the air as he put a cocky step within his stride. White Fang's arrogance anger Frith greatly, so he was determined to get the better of White Fang. He gave each animal a present while making each one different from the rest. So when the Heartless came, and others like the Dobermon and Jungle Cat, the dragon and then the griffin; to each of them Frith gave the fierce desire to hunt and slay the children of White Fang-rah._

_One by one, White Fang's children were killed by the new predators that were created by Frith's blessing and White Fang knew that Frith was too clever for him and he was frightened. He quickly started to run as he tried to escape the predators that were chasing him, but they were too fast so White Fang had to hide within the deepest part of the forest. White Fang grew tired and collapsed under a few bushes as he tried to hide while getting his strength back. While he was resting he heard the voice of Frith speaking high above him after the lord of creation spotted the wolf-dog's tail poking out from among the bushes._

"_My friend," said Frith. "Have you've seen White Fang-rah? For I'd wish to give him a gift."_

"_Um…no," replied White Fang in a small voice. "I have not seen him."_

"_Come out!" called Frith. "And I will give you his blessing instead."_

"_I'm wish I could my lord," said White Fang. "But I'm afraid that I cannot stand still for you, for the Heartless and Griffin are coming. If you want to bless me then you'll have to bless me while I am running."_

"_Very well," said Frith with a knowing smile, "Be it so"._

_With that, White Fang burst out of the bushes and began to run. But after the wolf-dog did jump out of the bush he was suddenly touched by Frith's golden light. White Fang's body began to become lean and powerful while his teeth became as sharp as knives and his senses became ten times as sharper than they had been before. He soon tore off across the hills as fast as the wind itself. He leapt over canyons and streams while running through the wild, untamed, forests and planes. As White Fang ran, he heard the voice of Frith booming high above his head._

"_All of the world will be your enemy, prince of wolves and wild-dogs, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you," warned Frith as White Fang dodged many of the animals that wanted to kill him within the underbrush of the forest. "But first they must catch you, hunter, listener, runner, prince with a sharp warning. Be cunning and full of tricks, and your people shall never be destroyed."_

Chapter 2: The beginning of the vision

In a rough forest terrain, where the underbrush was so thick that it was hard to see anything, laid an open field where large boulders and thick bushes lined the edges of the pasture. The voices of two men were heard talking along with the sound of a hammer banging against hard wood. Within the underbrush of bushes is a creature that was hiding from the men until it heard the voices fade as they were replaced by a sound of a vehicle starting up until it too faded away from the creature's sharp hearing. The creature slowly edged out of the bush as it sniffed the air around it. It came into full view a moment later as it reviled itself to be a male wolf-dog.

The wolf-dog had dark grey-brown fur with lighter fur on his muzzle, chest, stomach and underside of his tail. He also had lighter fur around his brown-red/golden eyes, and on his front and back paws. The wolf-dogs ears were a darker brown color than the rest of his fur coat. The wolf-dog's name was Balto, the son of a male husky and female wolf.

Balto slowly walked around the open field while sniffing the air and ground around him before walking back over to the bush that he had hidden in a moment ago.

"I think it's safe now Toboe," said Balto in a gentle voice.

"Really?" asked a young voice timidly within the bushes.

Balto nodded: "I'm pretty sure it is."

The voice soon revealed itself to be a young male wolf pup with dark brown-red fur with lighter brown fur around his face, muzzle, legs, paws, chest, and stomach. The wolf pup had golden eyes that show a soft yet mysterious look within them. On the pup's right paw were four metal wristbands. This was Toboe; Balto's adopted little brother.

Toboe had lost his family to hunters and was raised by an old woman that had found him when he was just a pup, but the woman suddenly died of a heart attack after Toboe became three and a half weeks old. Toboe was soon found by Balto's mother when she found the young wolf pup huddled in some bushes near the clans' territory. Balto and Toboe instantly connected with each other when they were introduced to one another and became as close as any of the pups within the litters that were born into the clan.

Toboe lay low to the ground with his ears pinned tightly down against his skull as he looked around the area in a cautious matter while Balto sat down and began to groom himself.

"There's still something strange about the territory this evening," voiced Toboe quietly.

Balto looked down at his brother for a moment before he began to sniff the air to see if anything was odd or out of place within their clans' territory, but so far the wolf-dog couldn't pick up anything.

"Is it dangerous?" asked Balto as he looked down at his little brother again.

Toboe slowly stood up from the ground before he changed into a sitting position: "It's not exactly danger it's…I don't know. Something oppressive, like thunder, but it seems safe enough now though."

For as long as Balto could remember, Toboe had some kind of strange power that let him sense things that no other wolf or wild dog could pick up with their original senses. Toboe had always sensed when trouble was going to arise within the packs' territory like the time when the young wolf pup said that a group of rebel dogs were going to attack the clan. Toboe's premonition soon came true when 12 rebel dogs came into the packs' territory and nearly killed all of the pack members, but thanks to their leader's quick thinking the rebel dogs were soon defeated. Toboe had many more premonitions that came true and Balto believed that his brother had developed a six sense that let Toboe see what was to come in the near future. But the other clan members believed that Toboe was nothing but a pup that wasn't right in the head.

Balto looked down at his brother for a moment before lightly nudging the pup in the shoulder with his nose and took off.

"Come on then," said Balto as Toboe follow after him. "Let see if you can help me find a pheasant for our meal tonight. If you can't then no one can."

Toboe suddenly stopped in the middle of the field where a group of a few male and female wolves and wild dogs were either laying in the light of the setting sun, mingling with each other, or chewing on a few bones from the animals that they had a few days ago. Toboe slowly walked towards a clump of grass before jumping back in surprise when a large fly suddenly flew out of the grass in front of the small pup's nose. This got the attention of the wolves and wild-dogs as the suddenly stopped what they were doing to see what the commotion was.

A Border collie with blonde fur and blue eyes stared at Toboe in curiosity when he was first startled by the false alarm. The Border collie's name was Thomas H. Norstein. He was known to be very intelligent within the clan and can solve a problem faster than any of the wolves and wild dogs of the pack.

"What's going on?" asked Thomas.

"It's only that runt, Toboe," answered another dog in a thick Russian accent "Jumping up at bluebottles again."

The dog that had answered Thomas's question was a male husky. He had ash grey and white fur and his eyes were a light blue. Around the husky's neck was a red collar with a golden dog tag hanging on the front edge of it indicating that he had once belonged to a human a long time ago.

The husky's name was Exile, an easy going and happy-go-lucky dog that was part of a group of hunters and soldiers in the Owsla, but he preferred to spend time with the lower pack members instead of the other soldiers of the Akela clan.

The wolves and wild dogs soon went back to what they were doing as Toboe quickly ran off to find his brother. The wolf pup quickly stopped when he spotted a pheasant pecking at the ground a few feet away from him. Toboe quietly crept towards the pheasant, with the bird unaware of the wolf cub's presences, before he quickly jumped on the game bird and killed it. Toboe looked down at his prey with pride before he quickly let out a sharp yelp to let Balto know that he found and caught a pheasant. The pup lowered his head and was about to grab the bird when a white paw suddenly placed itself down on top of the pheasant. Toboe looked up to see a malamute and wolf towering over him.

The malamute had black and white fur, steely blue eyes, and a strong muscular body. Around the malamute's neck was a leather brown collar with golden/brass metal circles decorating all around the collar. This was Steel, one of the top hunters and fighters within the Owsla.

The wolf that sat beside the malamute had black fur with grey on its muzzle and chest, and blue eyes. This was Niju, Steel's best friend who was also part of the top hunters and fighters within the Owsla.

The Akela clan had a group of soldiers, known as the Owsla, which defended the territory and fought off rebel packs that wanted to cause trouble. Steel and Niju were soldiers who like to bully around the weaker dogs that were in the lower ranks of the clan or those who weren't pure breed like them.

Steel glared down at Toboe as he held the pheasant under his right paw: "Get a move on pup, this is our bird."

Balto quickly ran up and stood beside his little brother: "Toboe was the one who found it and caught it first Steel."

"And we'll be the ones who'll eat it mutt," growled Niju as he glared at Balto in distaste.

"That's right half breed," stepped in Steel. "Pheasants and larger game are for Owsla only, you know that!"

Balto glared at both Steel and Niju with the two also glaring back at him. Balto soon led Toboe away for he knew better than to get into a fight with two soldiers of the pack's Owsla. Toboe and Balto soon came to rest near a small flat top boulder with Toboe lying on top of the boulder while Balto sat in the grass with an annoyed look on his face.

"To tell you the truth Toboe I'm getting sick and tired of it. Sometime I feel like clearing out of this little territory all together," said Balto as he glared at the two soldiers that were eating Toboe's kill before calming down as he looked up at his little brother with a smile on his muzzle. "Never mind, let's forget about it and try to enjoy the evening."

With that, Balto and Toboe, who had jump off of the boulder, went to a different part of the territory where they came to a small stream that had some trout splashing up out of the water. Balto grabbed a trout that had leapt out of the water closes to him and settled for the next best thing for their meal tonight. Toboe quickly caught a trout for himself before trotting back up to dry land with his brother and began to eat their catch. After Toboe had finished his meal he began to wonder around on his own while Balto turned to look at his brother.

"Don't wonder off too far, Toboe," cautioned Balto to his little brother. "There might be a few predators wondering around the area."

"I won't," said Toboe in reassurance before he began to walk around again.

Toboe's wondering took him into some tall grass where he was suddenly startled by another bluebottle. Toboe quickly backed out from the other side of tall grass before he suddenly bumped into something. The young wolf pup slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw that he had bumped into one of the wooden leggings that had a wooden board hanging on it. Toboe jump back in surprise before he started looking around the area in fretfully. The young wolf pup soon smelled a white stick that men would put into their mouths from time to time. Toboe started to sniff at the footprints that where left in the soft muddy earth before a strange feeling began to come over him.

"Balto," voiced Toboe as dread began to sink into his stomach. "Oh Balto…these are where it comes from."

Balto looked up from the stream that he was drinking from as he turned to look at his brother who had come to stand behind him.

"I know now," continued Toboe as he stared out towards the sunset. "A terrible thing is coming."

"What do you mean, Toboe?" asked Balto curiously.

"Look," said Toboe as he began to whimper while he stared out at the far field that was beyond the packs' territory. "The field…the field, it's covered with blood."

"Blood?" echoed Balto as he looked at his brother with a frown before turning back to the stream. "Don't be silly, it's just the light of the setting sun that's making the field turn red."

But the young wolf pup didn't seem to hear his brother as he kept staring out at the field before him. Toboe began to see a pool of bright red blood spilling over the field before he saw shadowy branches of a tree hanging high above his head. The images ended as soon as they began as Toboe began to hear the voice of his brother talking to him.

"Alright, alright Toboe," said Balto in a gentle voice. "It's getting dark. I think we should head back to the den."

"Back to the den?" exclaimed Toboe fearfully as he turned to look at his brother. "It'll come there, don't think it won't, it's…it's all around us!"

"Now stop it Toboe!" scolded Balto when he saw how his brother was acting in front of him.

Toboe began to feel edgy as he started to dart back and forth to his brother before running a few feet away from Balto.

"W-we…we've got to get away from here, all of us!" exclaimed Toboe.

"Go away?" questioned Balto in doubt, "With the whole clan?"

"Yes, before it's too late!" whimpered Toboe as he ran up to his brother.

"You're being silly," said Balto in an exasperated voice. "They won't come they'll think you're out of your mind."

"You must listen to me Balto!" insisted Toboe in determination. "Something really bad is going to happen."

Balto let out a sigh before looking at his younger brother: "Well…I guess we should go see Akela, the alpha of the pack. You can tell him about it, but I don't think that he'll like the idea at all."

With that, Balto and Toboe began to head towards the main den where the alpha of the pack lived. Balto ran passed the dogs that were still minding their own business, but Toboe quickly stopped as he began to get the attention of the pack members.

"We got to get away from the here, all of us!" shouted the young wolf pup as the pack members turned to look at him in surprise.

"Go away-ski?" said Exile in befuddlement.

"Yes, before it's too late!" cried out Toboe before he quickly ran after his brother.

Soon the whole pack began to buzz with worry as they all gathered together and began to chatter among them-selves. It was a light brown Borzoi who finally broke away from the crowed.

The Borzoi's name was Rocket, one of few fastest runners within the pack and one of the best fighters within the Akela clan.

"Come on, let's find out what's happening!" exclaimed Rocket as he raced off to follow Balto and Toboe.

A few of the other wild dogs followed after Rocket while some of the others hung back within the field. Balto and Toboe ran into the thickest part of the forest that sat near the edge of the field where a huge boulder sat under a steep hill. The boulder was perched on top of two medium sized boulders as they created a large entrance which leads into the chamber of the alpha leader, Akela.

Balto and Toboe neared the entrance of the den before they were suddenly stopped by wolf monster jumping in their path.

The wolf monster was tall and lean with a muscular body, which showed that he was part of the soldiers within the pack. He had a thick dark blue mane around his neck, two sharp horns that sat on top of his head that slanted outwards over the top of his white face, dark blue fur coated his top back which faded to light blue and then to white towards his legs. It was the same with his long tail. Blue fur stood up on the back of his neck and back while he glared at Balto and Toboe with his ruby red eyes. On the right side of the wolf monster's face was a red scar that came from the top of his forehead all the way down to his muzzle. The wolf monster's name was Tiger, the strongest fighter that ever made it into the soldiers and hunters of the pack. He was also known as 'Tiger of the Wind' for many of the Akela clan members say that he has the power to control the wind to do his bidding.

Tiger glared at Balto and Toboe for a moment before he calmed down after he realized who they were instantly.

"Balto?" said Tiger curiously. "It is Balto isn't it?"

"It is," replied Balto calmly with a nod of his head.

"What in the world are you doing here?" questioned Tiger with a raised eyebrow.

"We've come to speak with the Great Alpha, Tiger," responded Balto as he sat down with Toboe sitting beside him.

"We, you mean the runt wants to see him too?"

"Yes."

"I must!" insisted Toboe in determination.

Tiger frowned before he sat down on the ground and began to scratch the side of his neck with his right back-leg.

"Okay, I'll bite," said Tiger after he stopped scratching. "What's this all about?"

Balto hesitated for a moment before he opened his mouth to speak: "Well it's-"

"Tiger!" called out a voice from near one of the larger boulders that made up the den's entrance.

Tiger and Balto quickly turned to look at the owner of the voice. Sitting near the den's entrance was a Great Dane with dark brown fur and a red beaded necklace around his neck. The Great Dane's name was Ben, the captain of the Owsla's and also the faithful guard of the Great Alpha, Akela.

A female wolf was also lying near the entrance as well. The wolf had dark auburn with dark brown coating the top part of her ears and tail along with her front lets; grey fur grew on her face, undersides, inner ears and pack paws. She had yellow-green eyes and on the sides of her face was light green war paint that sat underneath her eyes. The wolf's name was Swiftkill and she is one of the greatest fighters within the pack and also Tiger's rival. Swiftkill was the only known female to ever be appointed as one of the most high ranked soldiers within the pack.

Ben slowly stood up from the ground as he glared at both Balto and Toboe who stood in front of him: "What do the lower pack members of the Akela clan want?"

"They want to see the Great Alpha," answered Tiger bluntly.

"What for?" questioned Swiftkill in annoyance as she raised her head up from her paws.

"W-well I have to…" started Toboe, but was quickly interrupted by Ben.

"No one is allowed to meet the Alpha while he is resting," growled Ben. "Now send them away before I get really serious."

"I'll take care of it Ben," growled Tiger before his captain walked back to laying in the sun again.

Tiger turned to look back at Balto and was about to tell the wolf-dog to leave, but Balto quickly spoke to him again.

"Listen Tiger," continued Balto calmly. "When have I ever asked to see the Alpha before?"

Tiger thought for a moment as he turned his gaze to look at the entrance of the den before turning back to Balto.

"Alright, alright," muttered Tiger. "Wait here for a minute."

With that, the wolf monster trotted into the alpha's den while Balto and Toboe stood outside as they waited to be called in. The two brothers' ears suddenly picked up on Tiger's voice while he spoke to the alpha of the clan.

"Excuse me sir, these two wolves have asked if they could see you. You mind if I bring them in?"

In that moment, Tiger quickly appeared in front of the duo as he exited halfway out of the den.

"Come on then," said Tiger before he added "Though I'll probably get my head bitten off after this."

"I bet it will," said Swifkill with a smirk as she sat up to look at Tiger. "And when the Alpha does start biting off your then head I'll be right out here listening in on it."

The wolf monster turned as he glared at Swiftkill while letting out a growl of annoyance before snorting. Tiger quickly turned away from the female wolf and began to lead Balto and Toboe into the den. Swiftkill let out a chuckled as she stood up from the ground and walked towards the entrance of the den.

"This should be interesting," voiced Swiftkill as she crouched near the entrance of the den.

The soldier suddenly heard a couple of paws coming towards the alpha's den and she quickly turned to see some of the lower pack members coming to listen in on the conversation as well. Thomas came up as he stood beside Swiftkill while some of the others hung back a few feet from them. Thomas and Swiftkill glanced at each other for a moment before they turned their attention back to the entrance when they started to hear the voices of Balto and Akela talking to one another.

"Ah…Lu," spoke Akela as he acknowledge the wolf-dog while saying his name wrong. "It is Lu, isn't it?"

"No sir, it's Balto" the wolf-dog corrected his leader.

"Balto?" said Akela as he repeated the name. "I knew your mother well, and your friend?"

"My brother sir, Toboe," answered Balto.

"Your brother," muttered Akela in a weary voice that told Balto not to correct him again.

The camera soon switches to the inside of the den. The den was deep with hardly any light to be seen. Tiger sat to the side as he watched the conversation going on between Balto, Toboe and Akela a few feet away. Balto and Toboe were sitting in front of a tunnel that led into the alpha's quarters where the leader laid on a bed of hay and tussock.

Akela was an old grey wolf with dark grey fur. Akela use to be at the top of his prim when he was younger and is still a great leader for he had a calm collected mind and he was never one to waver under pressure. He was known to all as 'The Lone Wolf' and he knew of the ways of men, but he was getting on in years and he would soon have to find a successor to lead the pack when he retires.

"Now, do tell me how I can help you two?" said Akela as he got right to the conversation.

"Well…" started Balto as he glanced at Toboe for a moment before looking back at Akela. "My brother told me that a bad danger is coming to our clan's territory."

"A bad danger eh?" echoed Akela coolly as he stared at the two younger pack members with his golden eyes.

Akela soon turned away from Balto and Toboe before sitting down with his back facing them. Balto and Toboe looked at each other for a moment before looking at the back of their leader expectantly.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," said Akela without looking at them before he turned to look over his shoulder. "Now, what sort of danger is it I wonder?"

"I-I don't know" answered Toboe hesitantly, "But it's bad, really bad."

"Well then," continued Akela as he stretched out his body. "What should we do?"

"Get away from here!" exclaimed Toboe, "All of us, now!"

"Now?" questioned Akela in bemusement, "In May, the mating season? And where would we go to?"

Balto frowned before he quickly backed up his little brother: "Well…he's had these feelings before and he's always been right again and again."

"I'll have to consider this very carefully."

Tiger, who was listening and watching the conversation, frowned when he heard his leader's unconcerned voice before he shook his head in exasperation.

Outside of the den, Swiftkill became really interested about what she had heard within the den. What did this pup, Toboe, mean by a great danger? The female wolf suddenly noticed that Thomas was inching closer to the den's entrance as the Border collie tried to hear the conversation better. Ben also noticed this too as he stood up from where he slept. He stepped in front of Thomas and blocked him from going anywhere near the entrance. Swiftkill quickly heard the last of the conversation coming to the end.

"Now perhaps we'll discuss this later in the summer," said Akela.

Back inside the den, Toboe began to panic as he ran away from Akela's quarters with Tiger trying to stop him by blocking the pup's way with his body.

"We can't wait! We can't wait!" whimpered Toboe as he climbed over Tiger's back and running out of the den.

"Well it's been good of you to come…Lu," said Akela coolly.

Balto glared at Akela for a moment before he ran off after his brother with Tiger quickly getting out of his way. The wolf monster stared after Balto for a moment before he turned to look at the tunnel where the leader was laying in and decided that it was time for him to leave. Tiger started slink off, but was quickly stopped in his tracks when Akela's voice sharply called out to him.

"Tiger!" barked Akela.

Tiger decided to ignore the first call and began to try walking away again, but winched when he heard Akela calling him once again.

"TIGER!" growled Akela.

The wolf monster let out a sigh before he turned to look over his shoulder: "Sir?"

"What in the great pack's name was that all about?" questioned Akela angrily as Tiger walked up to face the entrance of the alpha's quarters.

As predicted, Tiger was about to be scolded by the pack leader.

"Well sir," started Tiger but Akela interrupted him as he started to berate the young wolf monster.

"Your duty as an officer is to protect this den," growled Akela as the camera slowly pulled out of the underground den.

"Yes sir," spoke Tiger as we hear his voice within the darkness of the den.

"And those two lunatics you better keep watch."

"Yes sir"

To be continued

Well…this is the first part of my crossover story. I hope you like it.

White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!


	2. Chapter 2

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

The sun began to disappear over the western horizon with the last rays of its light slowly fading into the darkening sky. Balto walked towards the den that he shared with his adopted brother and found Toboe lying near the entrance with a worried look on his face. The older brother walked up to the young wolf pup and began to comfort Toboe by nuzzling the pup behind the ear with his nose. Balto was a little irritated that Akela would show little concern to his brother's sixth-sense for the older brother knew that you should never ignore something that might be a threat to the whole clan. And the wolf-dog didn't know how to explain it, but he felt that something was about to happen to the clan's territory very soon. Toboe let out a whimper before he turned to look up at Balto.

"I don't know why I have these visions," said the young wolf in a small voice. "They just happen; I have no control over them."

Balto looked down at Toboe for a moment before finally coming to a decision.

"Toboe, I've been thinking about what you've told me" spoke Balto quietly to his brother. "And I think that you're right about leaving the territory."

"Balto, do you mean…" started Toboe as he looked up at his adopted brother and had a feeling on what the wolf-dog was about to say to him.

Balto nodded his head at the young pup: "We'll leave here tonight, along with a few other members of our pack."

"But who do we get to come along with us?" asked Toboe.

Balto became thoughtful for a moment before finally deciding on who they should talk into leaving the territory tonight with them.

"Well, I think we should talk to Mel first," said Balto as he answered his brother's question. "He'll probably come along with us. We'll then talk to Nightrun and Vivio, then Ash and Naruto. I don't know how many we can get to come with us tonight, but we'll somehow try our best. Now, let's get some sleep before we make our move tonight."

With that, Balto and Toboe crawled into their den as they tried to get as much rest as they could before they got ready to leave when the moon appeared in the night sky. But what will happen next would surprise the two brothers, because what they didn't know was that Rocket had been listening in on their conversation while he hid behind a few bushes near the two brother's den.

"I'd better tell Thomas about this," whispered the Borzoi before he quickly sprinted away from the brother's den.

Midnight

Balto and Toboe slowly crawled out of their den as they got ready to gather as many of their pack members as they possibly can. Suddenly, to their surprise, a voice quickly spoke to them from behind a cluster of bushes that grew around Balto's and Toboe's den.

"Psst, Balto" spoke a male voice quietly in front of the two adopted brothers.

"Who's that?" whispered Balto curiously.

"It's me," answered the owner of the voice.

"Rocket?" asked Balto.

"No," replied the voice as the speaker revealed themselves to be the blonde Border collie himself. "Thomas, Rocket told me and a few others that you were leaving the territory tonight. If it's true, I'd like to come along."

"We like to come along too," spoke a female voice as the pack members of the Akela clan slowly appeared from out of the bushes and began to gather around Balto and Toboe.

The female who had spoken was a young black she-wolf that was half a year older than Toboe. She had gray fur on her stomach, chest and underneath her tail. There was also some grey within her inner ears and around her golden-amber eyes. Under her eyes were small dark tan streaks. The female's name was Nightrun, the wolf that Balto and Toboe had planned to visit after they've talked to Mel.

Nightrun is another one of the fastest runners within the pack. She is gentle and soft spoken among all of the pack members, and she loves the puppies of the pack. Nightrun is also one of the few story tellers within the clan.

Sitting next to Nightrun was a young dark furred female golden retriever with long golden hair that grew to her shoulders. The one special feature about this young pup was that her eyes were two different colors. The pup's right eye was red while her left eye was green. This was Vivio, the young golden retriever pup.

Vivio is an orphan who had lost both of her parents to a hunter two months ago. Nobody knew what to do with her until Nightrun decided to adopt Vivio and the two of them had been inseparable ever since.

The next pack member to come up to Balto and Toboe was a pure black male wolf with light brown eyes. Around the wolf's neck was a blue collar with a red and white pokeball dog-tag attached to it. The young wolf's name was Ash Ketchum and he was the same age as Nightrun. Ash is known to be one of the fewest members that would try to leave the pack to look for adventure even though he was younger than the other older wolves and wild-dogs. There were a few pack members that would sometimes leave the clan and travel to other places that were outside of their clans' territory.

Ash is courageous, selfless and kind towards others. Ash is also great friends with Balto and Toboe along with many of the other lower members of the pack, but he was also very curious about what lies beyond the packs territory. He would occasionally wonder out of the territory for half the day but was always brought back by the Owsla shortly after before sunset. The rules within the pack stated that only pack members who are part of the Owsla are allowed to venture outside of the territory. The collar around Ash's neck was an old collar that some human had trown out into the packs' territory after their old dog had past away. Ash found it soon after and decided to wear it because he thought it was cool, but the other dogs and wolves within the pack thought it disgusting.

Sitting beside Ash was a unique young wolf who was the same age as the black wolf. The wolf had bright golden/orange fur with blonde on his muzzle that ended near his throat. He also had blonde underneath his tail and on his chest and stomach. On top of the wolf's head was patch of blonde hair. He had some black on the top edges of his ears, around his eyes, which were blue, and black on all four of his legs. The most noticeable feature on the wolf's face is three black whisker birth marks on each side of his cheeks.

The wolf's name was Naruto, the joker of the pack. Naruto was abandoned by his parents for they didn't want to have anything to do with the new born pup. Naruto would have died if it weren't for Akame, a Kishu Ken that was part of the Owsla, and his mate who had decided to adopt the wolf pup as one of their own. Naruto didn't have many friends in the beginning, but that soon changed when he met Ash and Mel. Naruto had a track record of always playing jokes on the members of the pack, but mostly on the Owsla that he didn't like.

Rocket came out of the same bush that Thomas had been in a few moments ago with a light blonde, blue eyed golden retriever pup walking up alongside him. The pup's name was Mel, and he was a three months older than Vivio. Mel's parents were killed by a band of wild-dogs that decided to invade the clan's territory three months before Vivio's parents. He was gentle in nature and is always willing to help his friends in any way he can.

The next wolf to appear before Balto and Toboe was a she-wolf with dark brown fur and green eyes. Her name was Bonnie, a high class female wolf that was full of pride and looks down on everyone she sees as nothing but dirt beneath her paws. Why she came to Balto that night was a mystery, but Balto knew that there was no time to be picky about choosing who will come with him on his journey. The wolf-dog looked at all of the lower pack members before turning to look at Rocket with a smile.

"Thank you Rocket, it sure saved us a lot of time on gathering everyone up tonight."

"You're welcome Balto," voiced Rocket with a smile. "And I have to admit that I don't much like the look of things here."

"At least we've gather everyone up this quickly tonight," said Toboe as he looked over at all of the pack members.

"Well we'd better get out of here now, believe it" Naruto spoke quietly.

"He's right comrades," said Exile as he came up beside the orange wolf. "When I was coming out of my den, I've noticed bad-dog Steel was following me."

"Then that could mean that the Owsla has been turned out," whispered Ash in a low voice.

"Alright, the sooner we're off the better," said Balto as he began to take the lead with many of the pack members following behind him.

Unknown to them, they were being watched by an Owsla soldier who was hiding in the thickest part of the woods. The pack members of the Akela clan went at a steady walking pace as they crossed the open field while passing by a large wooden bulletin board with words written clear as day on the white surface.

**Building Land**

**Is to be**

**Developed**

Ash and Naruto were walking together with Bonnie walking along side Naruto. The orange wolf looked at the brown she-wolf with a suspicious glare.

"Why are you coming along?" questioned Naruto in a low voice.

"That's none of your business idiot," growled Bonnie as she glared at the orange wolf in disgust.

"It is our business when the daughter of Akela is following us around," said Ash.

"Fine," Bonnie growled louder. "If you two must know, I'm coming along because I'm tired of being watched over by all of the Owsla like a baby. I'm more of a pampered princess type of girl."

"What's the difference?" echoed Ash and Naruto as they gave Bonnie a deadpanned look.

"Will you three be quiet," voiced Rocket as he came up alongside the younger members of group. "We need to get out of the territory without any of the soldiers getting the drop on us."

At his words, Ash, Naruto and Bonnie shut their traps as they continued to walk on with the group. Vivio stuck close to Nightrun as the black she-wolf walked along side Exile with Toboe and Mel walking on the opposite side of the husky. Balto lead the pack on until he stopped when he spotted two shadowy shapes sitting near the edge of the forest and realization quickly dawned on the wolf-dog when he saw the figures revile themselves. Two massive looking dogs quickly ran out from under their cover as they headed towards the pack members who were trying to leave the territory.

"It's the Owsla, there coming!" shouted Balto as he and nine of his pack members quickly bolted.

The other pack members, who weren't fast enough to escape, were quickly caught by the rest of the Owsla that suddenly sprung out from their hiding places and were soon being led back to their dens. Ben, who was part of the squad, noticed that 10 of the pack members were still missing and quickly went after them.

Balto and his 9 pack members quickly leapt into a deep ditch as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. It looked as if they were going to make it when they were suddenly stopped by two figures standing high over the edge of the ditch. They all froze in terror until the first figure spoke.

"There aren't that many of you left are there," muttered a male voice.

"I should say so," spoke a female voice as the second figure laid down near the edge of the ditch.

Balto instantly recognized them by their voices: "Tiger? Swiftkill, Are you two off duty?"

"Off duty?" said Swiftkill with a scoff. "We're likely to remain of. We've left the Owsla because this idiot lost his temper."

"Well I didn't hear you volunteering in entering the conversation while I was arguing with our leader." Tiger growled as he looked down at the she-wolf beside him before he turned to the group. "Toboe, Swiftkill and I had been thinking about what you've said. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," replied Toboe with a nod of his head. "And we're leaving."

"Leaving?" repeated Swiftkill, "All of you, where too?"

"We don't know exactly," replied Balto to the pure wolf's question. "But we're going."

Suddenly, without warning, Ben leapt down into the ditch and stood in front of the group as he blocked their path to freedom.

"You're all under arrest!" barked the Great Dane angrily.

Nightrun was the first one to speak among her group members: "Under arrest?"

"What do you mean?" questioned Balto.

"What for?" asked Ash.

"For spreading dissention, in sighting to mutiny," answered Ben.

"But there's a bad danger coming," Toboe spoke up beside his brother.

"It's no good Toboe, he won't listen" said Mel as he stood beside the older wolf pup.

"You'll all come with me," ordered Ben.

Balto's group looked at each other before Exile whispered the one thing that came to everyone's minds.

"Is he alone-ski?"

"I think so," voiced Naruto as he answered the husky's question.

"Why should we come with you?" questioned Bonnie stubbornly as she walked up to stand in front of the Great Dane. "After all, don't you know who I am?"

"I do," replied Ben as he glared down at Bonnie. "And you should know who I am young wolf, for I am Captain of Owsla."

Balto, who would always try to avoid a fight, stepped forward to stand in front of Ben with Bonnie backing away from the Great Dane.

"Go, now!" growled Balto as he glared into the eyes of the Great Dane in defiance. "Or we'll kill you."

The 8 pack members, especially Bonnie, were surprise to hear those words from Balto as they looked at each other in confusion. Ben didn't seem that intimidated by the wolf-dog's threat as he only glared down at Balto.

"It's you who'll be killed!" growled Ben before he lunged at Balto.

The Great Dane was hoping to grab Balto by the neck and strangle him into submission, but he was suddenly jumped on from above by Tiger and Swiftkill as the two ex-soldiers of the Owsla tackled the captain to the ground. Ben slammed into the wall of the ditch before he turned to see Tiger and Swiftkill standing before him with their fangs beard in anger and rage.

"Tiger, Swiftkill," gasped Ben in shock.

"That's right, you know us!" snarled Tiger as blue electricity started to dance across his horns. "Now, I suggest that you get out of here while you still can!"

Ben glared at Tiger and Swiftkill before looking at Balto and his group for a moment. Ben knew that he could take on Balto's group single handedly, but when it comes to fighting against his two best soldiers then he was completely out muscled. Tiger was known to be a fierce fighter along with Swiftkill and with the two of them together they could take down an opponent twice their size. It surprised the Great Dane now for he had always known the two very well ever since they were puppies, and he had never once seen them work together for they would always fight each other over dominance. Ben quickly got up from the ground and ran away from the group before he jumped out of the ditch.

"He won't be long coming back with the Owsla," Thomas pointed out once Ben was gone.

"Right," muttered Tiger as he became a little calmer before he looked at Balto. "Well, I think I'll come with you."

"As will I," said Swiftkill before smirking at Tiger. "I don't want to miss out on this adventure while embarrassing this rookie along the way."

Tiger growled at the she-wolf before taking point with Swiftkill and the eight pack members following along behind him. Balto hung back with Toboe as the two of them shared a look of astonishment with each other. Who would have guessed that two of the finest soldiers from the Owsla would be coming along with them on this journey? Balto shrugged his shoulders before he and Toboe quickly followed after the group.

Two hours later

The pack members soon left the ditch and were now traveling across an open field until they came near the border of the clan's territory. The 11 clan members rested in the grass while Balto trotted out ahead of the group. The wolf-dog quickly stopped as he stood near the edge of the border that separated him and his group from unknown territory.

In front of Balto sat a dense forest. It was so thick that the wolf-dog could barely see anything within the darkness. Suddenly, Tiger came up to Balto as the wolf monster began to speak with him.

"Balto, we'll have to stop here," said Tiger. "Toboe and pups are all tired, they need to rest."

"He's right Comrade Balto," spoke Exile in agreement.

Balto frowned for a moment before he spoke to Tiger: "Look, once we're beyond the forest then we'll really be clear of the Owsla and we can rest then."

With that, Balto trotted forward as he headed into the dense forest. Tiger and the others hung back for a moment as they all looked up at the towering trees above them.

"I don't like the looks of this place," muttered Swiftkill.

"That makes two of us," spoke Tiger before he followed after Balto with the group coming up close behind him.

"I've never been in this part of the territory before Balto-san," spoke Mel as he looked at all of the bushes and trees before him.

"It looks scary," voiced Vivio for the first time at the start of the groups' journey.

"Not to mention dangerous," muttered Bonnie to herself.

"Have you ever been to this part of the territory before Ash?" asked Naruto curiously.

"I've only gotten about this far before the Owsla caught me," replied Ash as he looked at the orange wolf beside him. "I've never actually set foot in this forest before."

"Then let's watch our step," said Balto as he looked at his group. "Everyone stay close and follow me."

The group quickly did as they were told as Balto began to lead the way. Nightrun had to carry Vivio by the scruff of the neck for she knew that the little pup was too tired to walk on her own right now. Everyone stayed as close to each other as they possible could while they walked or trotted through the thick forest. Tiger and Swiftkill were legging behind a little for they had a strange feeling that something was following them. Toboe and Mel were also legging behind in exhaustion but they quickly tensed when they suddenly felt a cold chill run up their spines.

"Do you get the feeling that we're being watched?" asked Mel quietly.

Toboe slowly nodded before he and the golden retriever pup turned to look at a hallow tree and they quickly saw two pairs of eyes looking straight at them. This started the two greatly as Toboe and Mel quickly ran after the others. They found Balto and their pack members sitting under the cover of thick, over hanging branches of an elm tree, waiting for them. The group quickly heard the sound of wings overhead and saw a group of giant vampire bats flying above them. Toboe and Mel quickly took cover among their pack members as they all huddled quietly together. In a few moments, the vampire bats were gone.

"Okay, I've had enough of this place," growled Bonnie as she glared at all of her pack members. "I want out of here, now!"

"We can't leave yet Bonnie," argued Rocket as he glared down at the brown she-wolf beside him.

"Rocket's right," said Balto as he backed up the Borzoi. "We still have to wait for Tiger and Swiftkill."

"I wonder what's taking them so long?" questioned Naruto in worry.

Suddenly, the young wolf's question was answered as Tiger and Swiftkill appeared in front of the group. The two began to trot over to their pack members until Tiger completely stopped and began to sniff the air. The smell of metallic iron quickly hit his nose along with another smell. The wolf monster turned to look over his shoulder and out of the bush came the face of a horrendous monster.

The monster's face was as black as the night itself with many wrinkles and scars etched into it as well. Two long bull horns sat on top of its head, its nose was sunken into its face and producing from the creature's top lips were two, long and ugly yellow fangs that were stained with blood. The monster glared at Tiger with its cat green eyes in hunger.

"A Yokai!" exclaimed Tiger as he quickly ran over to the group.

Yokai were notorious creatures that feed on weaker animals whenever they get the chance to catch them. They would occasionally eat animals but their favorite meal to eat was man, for humans had weaker emotions that draw Yokai to them if they are not careful.

"This way!" barked Tiger to his group.

"Don't need to tell us twice," said Swiftkill in agreement.

Tiger quickly took point as he led the group away from the Yokai. Nightrun ran with Vivio in her mouth again as the group took up a tight formation. They ran through the forest before Ash quickly spoke.

"I think that thing just killed," said the black wolf. "I saw blood on its fangs."

"Lucky for us it had," spoke Rocket. "Otherwise it might have been quicker in attacking us."

The group ran all night until the first rays of dawn appeared over the eastern sky as it drove away the darkness of the forest. The pack members were steadily walking at an easy pace before they came to a river that wasn't too large and the current ran slow and steady. The group rested on the grass while Balto, Toboe and Tiger walked towards the sandy bank of the river. The two brothers stood near the edge of the river before Toboe spoke up.

"We'll have to cross it," said the wolf pup.

"Cross it?" echoed Tiger with a frown "Who's going to cross it? What do you want to cross it for?"

"We'll there's no way that I'm going to cross it," barked Bonnie from the grass. "All that water will ruin my lovely fur."

"Wimp," muttered Naruto to himself before he was suddenly cuffed on the head by Bonnie who had overheard him.

Tiger rolled his eyes before walking away from the group.

"Why did I have to get stuck with a group full of pups," muttered Tiger to himself.

Balto watched Tiger's retreating form before turning to look at Toboe with a doubtful look on his face. Wolves and wild-dogs were known to be excellent swimmers, but they would rarely try to avoid water as much as they can for they sometimes didn't feel like getting their paws wet, but they will swim if they don't have a choice.

"Are you sure about this?" Balto questioned his younger brother.

"Yes, I'm sure" replied Toboe with a nod of his head.

Nightrun, who was lying on the grass with the other pack members, lifted her head up from her paws when she heard about crossing the river and the she-wolf quickly spoke up among the others.

"I don't think swimming this river right now would be a very wise idea Balto," said the she-wolf.

"She's right," spoke Mel as he lay on the grass with a tired look on his face. "I don't think I can swim Balto-san, I'm worn out and Vivio is a lot worse off than me."

Everyone glanced over at the young female golden retriever as the pup panted in exhaustion while she lay next to Nightrun with Ash sitting close beside the black she-wolf.

"Well we can't just sit here-ski," argued Exile as he sat beside Rocket.

"He's right," spoke Swifkill in agreement. "Who knows what could happen if we stay in one spot for too long."

"I know what we should be looking for," said Toboe "A high, lonely place with dry soil. Where we can see and hear all around, and where men hardly ever come."

"Any ideas on what he's talking about?" Naruto asked Rocket as the young orange wolf looked up at the Borzoi for an answer.

"Not a clue," replied Rocket with a shake of his head.

Ash also shook his head at Naruto as he gave the orange wolf the same answer and that was when the black wolf noticed that one of their pack members was missing.

"Hey, where's Thomas?" asked the male in confusion.

"He was a here just a second ago," said Exile as he and the others began to look around.

While the other were wondering where their missing pack member was Tiger, who was walking around the area, quickly stopped when he suddenly heard a bark from up ahead of him. The wolf monster quickly crouched behind some thick bushes and tall tussock before he carefully looked out from his hiding place. The wolf monster soon spotted one of the pack's most feared enemies.

Appearing over the top of a hill was a giant dog that was larger than a wolf or human. The dog looked like a Doberman, but every wolf and wild-dog knew that this was no ordinary dog. The giant dog that was standing on the hill was a Dobermon a digital dog monster that was known to hunt and kill off any wild K9 that would threaten the human's life stock. Dobermon only listen to humans who are strong willed and they will not hesitate to attack a pack that step onto a farmer's territory.

Tiger knew that this was trouble for his pack members and he quickly ran back to tell Balto the news. The wolf monster stopped in front of his pack members before he turned to look back behind him.

"There's a Dobermon loose in the woods!" exclaimed Tiger.

"Well that does it-ski," muttered Exile as he turned to look in the direction that Tiger had come from.

"Great, out of the frying pan and into the fire," said Naruto as he stood up from the ground along with the other pack members.

Vivio quickly hid between Nightrun's front legs and began to shake in fear while Mel quickly ran over to Balto's side to seek comfort and safety.

"A-a Dobermon?" asked Vivio in a shaky voice.

"Come on!" barked Tiger to his pack members. "What do you think will happen when that mutt picks up our sent?"

"It's best that we don't think about that possibility," said Rocket as he answered Tiger's question.

"What should we do?" asked Nightrun in a worried voice.

"What do you think," Tiger growled as he looked at the she-wolf "Those that can swim, swim! The others…they'll have to make out the best they can."

"But Tiger, Mel and Vivio won't be able to make the swim" argued Swiftkill. "They're too exhausted from running all night."

"Then let's leave them here," suggested Bonnie in a cruel voice. "They're weak and they'll only slow us down on this journey."

"Shut up Bonnie!" barked Ash in anger. "We're not leaving Mel and Vivio here to be Dobermon chow."

"Ash is right," said Balto in agreement as he looked at Mel, Vivio and Toboe, who were all shivering in fear. "We all got into this together so we'll all get out of it together."

"Balto!" shouted Thomas, who was standing on a different part of the river bank, had set his paw down on something that was floating in the water "Look!"

Balto and the pack members quickly ran over to the Border collie to see what he had found. Floating in the water was a flat wooden board that was large enough to carry two small passengers across the river. Balto placed his front paws onto the board to test it out before stepping back onto land.

"It floats," voiced Thomas.

"And toads hop, so what?" retorted Bonnie in an annoyance.

Balto quickly got the idea when he figured out the solution to their problem: "That's it, that's it!"

"I'm missing something here," said Naruto as he looked at Ash and Rocket in confusion.

The group was quickly reminded of their situation when they suddenly heard the barking of the Dobermon coming closer to their position.

"Mel, get on quickly!" urged Balto to the young golden retriever.

Mel, not knowing what to do, quickly did as he was told and stepped on to the wooden board only to slip into the water. Thomas quickly stepped onto the board before dipping his head into the water and fishing out a wet golden retriever pup. The Border collie placed Mel onto the board with Nightrun quickly doing the same thing with Vivio as the she-wolf placed the pup beside Mel on the board.

"Tiger, Exile, get your noses under it and push it out," ordered Balto "Quickly!"

The two pack members quickly did as they were told and began to push the board, along with its passengers, across the river. The group began to follow, but there was reluctance on Bonnie's part.

"I told you, there's no way that I'm getting in the water!" barked Bonnie stubbornly.

"Then do you want to stay here and become a Dobermon's breakfast?" questioned Naruto.

"Well…" started Bonnie but she never got the chance to answer when Rocket suddenly grabbed the she-wolf by the scruff of the neck and began to drag her over to the water.

Bonnie struggled for a moment but she quickly stopped when she found herself already chest deep in water: "Alright, alright, you win, I'll go!"

Rocket soon let go of the she-wolf's neck as he let Bonnie swim with the rest of the pack members. The Borzoi waited for Naruto and Ash to enter the water before the trio began to swim together. Balto was the last to enter the water with Toboe as the two brothers began to swim after the others. With Mel and Vivio the two were squirming around on the wooden board in a panic.

"I'm slipping, I'm slipping," whimpered Vivio.

"No you're not," argued Mel as he tried to calm down the she-pup.

"I am," yelped Vivio.

Their squirming made the wooden board spin around on the water's surface and nearly hit Exile on the side of the head, but the husky quickly ducked under the water's surface before coming back up to breath air again. Tiger, who was growing impatient with the pups' squirming, growled as he and Exile quickly steadied the wooden board again.

"Keep still!" barked the wolf monster.

The pups quickly did as they were told and the two older pack members were able to push the wooden board to the other side of the river where they were hidden in a clump of bulrushes on the shore line. Balto and the pack members quickly helped the two pups up onto shore with Tiger and Exile following close behind as Mel and Vivo walked up to the shore together.

"Are you two alright?" asked Nightrun in a soft voice.

"We're fine," answered Mel with Vivio nodding in agreement.

On the other side of the river, the Dobermon suddenly heard a whistle from its master and quickly ran towards the source of the sound. The pack members let out a sigh of relief when they saw the digital dog leave.

"Thank Frith that's over with," said Rocket.

"Ugh, my beautiful fur," complained Bonnie as she looked herself over in disgust as water dripped down from her fur. "It's completely ruined!"

"Just shake out the water," growled Tiger as he glared at the brown she-wolf in front of him. "It'll dry out once we get started on our journey again."

"But it won't look the same," whined Bonnie as she glared at the blue wolf.

The other's rolled their eyes at the over dramatic she-wolf before they began to shake the water out of their fur. Ash had just finished shaking the water out of his fur before he was suddenly drenched again by Nightrun shaking the water off from her body. The she-wolf quickly realized what she had done when she saw Ash covered in water.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ash," Nightrun apologized as she looked at the male wolf beside her.

"That's alright," Ash reassured with a smile. "Besides, a little water never hurt anybody."

The group began to head out on their journey once Ash had shaken the water out of his fur again, but Balto hung back with Thomas as he spoke to the Border collie.

"That was a good idea of yours Thomas," praised Balto with a smile.

"Thanks," said Thomas with a nod of his head as he returned the smile. "Let's try to remember it; it might come in handy again."

Balto nodded his head before he and Thomas quickly ran after the others as they continued on with their journey. The pack moved out at a walk as they crossed over wide open fields while avoiding pastures full of sheep and cows along the way. There was a law among wild-dogs and wolves that said they were to never hunt life stock otherwise they would bring death upon their pack if they anger the humans. The group came to an opened field where a large hedge stood in front of them. The pack sat to rest for a moment while Balto, Tiger and Swiftkill walked head of the group. Exile lay in the grass with the group before asking a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Does anyone know where we're going?" asked the husky to his group members.

"Balto does, I'm sure" answered Nightrun while Vivio sat between her front paws.

Balto crawled underneath a large opening in the hedge before he caught the scent of blood on the air along with another smell that he couldn't identify. The wolf-dog walked forward until his left front paw suddenly touched something hard and gravely. Balto looked down and saw that he was standing on some kind of black surface and on the black thing laid the dead body of a small brown hedgehog. Balto stiffed the black surface for a moment before he turned to look at Swiftkill and Tiger.

"I've never seen anything like that before," said the wolf-dog.

"This is called a road," spoke Swiftkill as she informed Balto about what the black surface was. "And do you see that hedgehog over there? A man thing killed it."

"A man thing?" echoed Balto in a confused voice.

"A Metal-Runner, it runs on it" said Tiger as he explained things to the wolf-dog.

Balto looked at the wolf monster: "A what?"

"The Metal-Runner," repeated Tiger as he glanced at Balto.

"It run's on it?" questioned Balto as he looked down at the 'Road' again.

"Yeah, a lot faster than we can" replied Swiftkill.

"It's dangerous then," said Balto in caution. "It could catch us."

"No, no, it won't take any notice of us at all" spoke Tiger as he began to walk to the middle of the road before sitting down on it while lying his tail straight out behind him. "Here, I'll show you, just watch this."

Balto and Swiftkill sat on the grass as they watched from the side of the road with worried looks imprinted on their faces. Soon a black car, or Metal-Runner as Tiger called it, appeared and came speeding down the leftside of the road before passing by Tiger's still form while blowing his fur and mane back by its make shift wind. The wolf monster looked over at his two pack members with a smile.

"See, it's not interested," said Tiger.

Swiftkill was about to say something but she was quickly interrupted when another car suddenly came up on the right side of the road. It quickly startled Balto and Swiftkill as the two quickly darted back into the cover of the hedges. Tiger, who was also startled by the car, quickly leapt up from the road and darted into the hedge growth on the other side of the road. Everything was quiet for a second before Tiger shouted from the other side of the road as he appeared from out of the hedge.

"What are you guys waiting for?" barked the wolf monster.

"N-nothing in particular," replied Naruto with a shutter as he and the other's poked their head out from the hedge.

"Well, come along then," said Tiger as he urged the others over to his side of the road.

The group quickly did as they were told as they all ran across the road with Balto bringing up the rear as he made sure that there were no stragglers getting separated from the group. Once everyone was across Swiftkill began to angrily berate Tiger.

"What did you think you were doing?" shouted the she-wolf in anger.

"I was only proving a point that Metal-Runners aren't dangerous," said Tiger calmly while looking away from Swiftkill.

"You could have been killed you idiot!" growled Swiftkill.

Tiger became irritated as he turned to glare at Swiftkill and was about to say something, but Balto quickly stopped him.

"That's enough you two!" shouted Balto as he got between the two Owsla. "Now look, we have to find a safe place to rest, we're too exposed out here in the open."

The two ex-soldiers of Owsla glanced at Balto before glaring at each other for a second. Tension was high between the two, but Tiger and Swiftkill soon turned their heads away from each other in a huff. The group soon continued on with their journey, not knowing that there was more danger ahead of them.

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

Chapter 4: One close call after another

The group walked for about an hour through many other pastures with Balto leading them on and on. The pack members were becoming tired and it wasn't long until Swiftkill finally spoke up for the group.

"They need to rest Balto," she said as the oddball group slowed to a halt.

Balto looked at his pack members for a moment. He saw that Mel and Vivio were on their last leg while Toboe looked almost ready to collapse at any moment. Ash, Nightrun and Naruto were resting on the grass together while Nightrun tend to Vivio, and the wolf-dog saw that the young pup was favoring her left paw as she held it up off of the ground. Balto knew that Vivio must have caught something in her left paw and it needed to be checked on once they found a safe place to rest. As for Bonnie she was being more of a pain than ever before as she whined that her delicate paws were not made for walking long distances.

Tiger was with Swiftkill, Thomas, Rocket and Exile as the four sat protectively around the younger members of their group while keeping an eye out for enemies that might pounce on them at any second. Balto began to look at his surroundings and all he saw was wide open space until he spotted something on the horizon.

"There's something up ahead," spoke the wolf-dog.

"A warm, friendly den perhaps?" said Tiger in sarcasm.

"No, no, no not a den," answered Balto with a shake of his head "A field, a great field of scented plants that will cover us from sight and sound until we're all rested."

"You're beginning to sound like a chief Balto," stated Thomas before going into thought as he voiced the next words that came out of his mouth "Balto-rah."

"Balto-rah?" echoed Tiger in disbelief before shaking his head. "That will be the day I call him chief and the day I claim that Swiftkill's my mate."

Swiftkill frowned at Tiger: "I don't find that amusing."

"Alright you two that's enough," said Balto. "You can argue later, right now we've got to get the others to the field so that they can rest."

"I agree one hundred percent comrade," said Exile before he began to gently nudge Mel back up onto his paws again. "Come along little comrade, not much further now."

"Alright," said Mel before he slowly started walking again.

Ash was next to get up before he nudged Naruto up to his paws as well: "Come on Naruto, I bet I can beat you to that plant field over there."

"You're on," said Naruto as he quickly jumped to his paws.

Nightrun slowly stood up before gently grabbing Vivio by the scruff of the neck. Bonnie, who was still sitting on the ground, began to whine again.

"I too tired to move," she said.

"Well you can't stay here," pointed out Rocket. "It's too open and predators might catch you, not to mention man."

Bonnie finally relented after Tiger threatened to bite her tail off if she didn't start moving. The group walked for about a minute until the finally came to the place where they could rest, which was a bean field that grew tall over their heads. The pack soon settled down to rest while Balto walked over to Nightrun and Vivio, who had begun to lick her paw while giving off a little whimper of pain.

"Here, let me see" offered Balto as he lay down in front of the small pup.

Vivio lay down on the ground before she turned her left paw upwards as she let Balto inspect it. The wolf-dog soon spotted the problem with the young she-pup's paw. He found a thorn sticking right between the two pads of the pup's paw with a small amount of blood forming around it. Balto frowned before he began to tend to Vivio's paw. It took a while to get the thorn out of Vivio's paw for the wound had become tender and the young she-pup would flinch in pain once in a while, but with great patients Balto finally got the thorn out. Balto placed the thorn down on the ground and began to inspect it while Naruto came up to see what was going on and saw the thorn.

"Whoa, that is one large thorn," said Naruto in amazement as he looked at it.

The thorn was 7 inches long as it lay on the ground between Balto's front paws. Ash walked over to the group as he too got a good look at the thorn that was resting on the dirt.

"Whoa," said Ash in amazement. "With a thorn that size we could have poked that Yokai's eyes out back there in the forest."

"Yes we would have," Balto agreed with a smile before he looked at Vivio again. "Make sure you lick that wound of yours Vivio and try not to pick up anymore large thorns while we travel, alright?"

"Yes, Balto-san," answered Vivio with a nod of her head.

Balto soon sat up before he turned to his pack members: "Get some rest everyone. We'll be moving out again soon."

Everyone soon spaced themselves out as they got ready to take a little rest before moving out again. Tiger, Swiftkill and Rocket were lying on the ground not too far away from the group with Swiftkill sleeping close to Tiger while Rocket slept on his side. Not far from the three, Naruto was sleeping on his back with a small bit of saliva appearing at the corner of his opened mouth while he snored. Ash was sleeping next to Nightrun with Vivio cuddled up close between the two of them. Balto, Mel and Thomas were all sleeping together in peaceful bliss. Exile, Bonnie and Toboe were sleeping near the edge of the bean field not too far away from the others. Everyone in the group slept while nothing disturbed them, except the soft buzzing of insect wings flying near their ears.

The pack members weren't bothered by the buzzing of insects. Well…except for Bonnie who was having a hard time in getting to sleep. The brown she-wolf let out a growl as she shot up from where she was laying on the ground next to Exile while glaring up at the bugs that were annoying her. Bonnie started to snap at the bugs before she suddenly smelt something near the edge of the field. The she-wolf quickly went to investigate and saw a group of sheep walking around in a pasture about 10 feet away from the bean field. Bonnie licked the sides of her lips as she thought about hunting those helpless creatures as hunger grew deep inside her stomach. The law of not hunting the human's animals quickly faded from Bonnie's mind as the she-wolf started making her way towards the heard of sheep.

Toboe, who was sleeping on the edge of the field, started awake when he had lazily opened his eyes for a moment and quickly bolted up when he saw Bonnie walking past him. The young wolf watched the she-wolf in confusion as he saw the look of hunger grow on her face. Toboe wondered what had gotten into Bonnie when he suddenly heard the bleating of sheep to his far right and he quickly realized what the she-wolf was going to do.

"Bonnie no!" shouted Toboe as he stood up from where he slept. "You know the laws of the wolf and wild-dog clans!"

"Shut up you stupid runt!" growled Bonnie as she turned to glare at the wolf pup. "You're not the boss of me and I'll hunt whatever I want!"

Toboe flinched at the harshness within the she-wolf's voice before Bonnie took off towards the sheep pasture at a breakneck speed. The sheep quickly noticed Bonnie running towards them and they quickly scattered as they ran away from their soon to be killer. Toboe watched helplessly as the she-wolf started going on a killing spree, but Bonnie's hunt was short lived when Toboe suddenly spotted a human coming out of his home with a gun in his hand.

Toboe felt the cold grip of fear enter his heart before he quickly turned back to Bonnie, who was still chasing the sheep around the pasture, and began to bark a loud as he can. The others were quickly aroused from their sleep when they heard the young wolf's barking. The pack members quickly checked to see what was going on. As for Toboe, he kept barking at Bonnie to get the she-wolf's attention but the young wolf was too busy chasing the sheep around to take any notice of her surroundings. Rocket, who was the first to come up to Toboe's side, also saw the human as well and he quickly bolted from safety of the bean field. Bonnie was chasing one of the sheep before Rocket suddenly grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!" barked Bonnie angrily before she suddenly found herself hanging over Rocket's back like a sack of flour.

"Saving your stupid life that's what I'm doing," growled Rocket before he took off back towards the bean field.

Bonnie was about to protest, but she quickly became silent when she heard the sound of a gun being fired off at them. Rocket ran back to the safety of the bean field while dodging the bullets of the gun that were being shot at them. The Borzoi soon made it to the bean field as he and the others quickly ran to the middle where they would be safer. Rocket came to an abruptly stopped with Bonnie flying over his head before landing heavily on the ground.

The brown she-wolf quickly shook her head to clear out the ringing before looking up at Balto and Tiger who were now standing in front of her as both males glared down at her in anger. Bonnie knew that she was in trouble as her ears sank down to her skull in submission.

"Just what in Frith's name were you doing?" growled Tiger as he began to berate the young female wolf in front of him.

"I was hunting, you got a problem with that?" said Bonnie as she tried to put on a tough act.

"It is a problem if you get yourself killed with your foolishness," answered Balto in a harsh voice. "You know the law of the pack: We are to never hunt the human's life stock."

"But I'm hungry!" complained Bonnie.

"Well suck it up!" shouted Tiger in a louder voice that made Bonnie winch. She kept quiet as the wolf monster glared down at her in anger. "If you're going to be traveling with us then you'll have to learn to be tough!"

"I don't think she even knows the meaning of the word 'tough,'" whispered Naruto to both Ash and Rocket.

"Well she is Akela's little princess after all," muttered Rocket as he reminded his two pack members with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's true," voiced Ash with a nod of his head.

"Now you listen to me you prissy little she-wolf," Tiger continued as he came towards the end of his lecture. "If you ever try hunting the human's life stock again I'll tear off your ears, CLEAR!"

Bonnie, not wanting to face the wrath of Tiger, quickly nodded her head showing that she understood.

"Alright, now that that's settled with we'd better keep moving," said Balto before he started leading his pack members again.

The group continued on their journey while taking a wide detour around the sheep's pasture so that they could avoid angering the famer any further. The journey was a quiet one for the group as they traveled over many long distances while taking a short brake once in a while for the pups to gather up their energy again before they continued on.

The group was now walking through an open field at a steady walk, for there wasn't any danger that the pack could sense. Balto was in the lead with his brother walking a few feet beside him. The other pack members kept walked behind their leader, not one of them speaking a word to each other. Vivio and Mel were a few steps behind the group as they panted in exhaustion. The group had been quiet throughout the journey for a long time, but the silence was quickly broken by Naruto.

"That's it!" shouted the orange wolf "I'm tired of all this silent walking!"

The group stopped in their tracks to look at Naruto in confusion. The orange wolf sat down on the ground with a huff as a pout came over his face.

"What's got your tail in a twist now Naruto?" asked Rocket as he looked at the young wolf in front of him.

"You want to know what's got my tail in a twist. Well I'll tell you what it is, everyone is all so quiet and I'm starting to go crazy with all this hush, hush business!"

"Yeah, so what of it?" questioned Bonnie in a tired voice.

"So, I'm sick of all this silence!" barked Naruto.

"Well what do suppose we do about this silence then?" questioned Swiftkill as she gave Naruto a dull look.

Naruto was about to reply when the group was quickly alerted to a scream. The pack members turned to see Vivio and Mel being attacked by a group of Murkrow that had appeared from out of nowhere. Vivio was on the ground as she covered her head from the black bird Pokémon while Mel was trying to defend both Vivio and himself as he bit and barked at the Murkrow that surrounded them.

"Vivio!" shouted Nightrun in fear.

"Mel!" barked Ash as he quickly ran to help the younger pups.

Ash, along with Tiger, Rocket, Exile, Balto and Swiftkill, began to snap and snarl as they fought off the Murkrow that were attacking their younger pack members. The Murkrow quickly flew away while one squawked out in surprise when Tiger suddenly electrocuted its tail feathers with his torpedo attack before it rejoined its companions in the sky. The group watched the black bird Pokémon fly higher into the sky before Nightrun quickly trotted over to Vivio and began to check the young golden retriever pup over for any serious injury. Ash walked up to Mel to see if he was alright as well. The male golden had a few scratches but they weren't too serious.

"You okay Mel?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, I think so" replied Mel with a nod of his head.

Tiger soon trotted over to Ash and Mel with a smirk spread out on his muzzle.

"I'm impressed Mel," said Tiger as he sat down in front of the young golden retriever. "Usually pups about your age would run from a bunch of Murkrow that would pick on them, but you stood your ground and fought back with no fear what so ever."

"I have to agree with Tiger here," stepped in Swiftkill as she came to stand with the trio. "If you keep show that same courage then you might wind up in the Owsla someday."

"Da," spoke Exile with a nod of his head. "You'll be first ever young dog to make it into Owsla in our new home."

"That is _if_ we find this new home that Toboe told us about," muttered Naruto before he turned to look up at the sky.

Toboe looked down at the ground as his ears sagged in depression when he heard the doubt in Naruto's voice. Nightrun noticed this before she turned to look at Naruto in a frown forming on her muzzle.

"Don't say that Naruto," Nightrun chided.

"She's right buddy, I'm sure we'll find our new home," said Ash as he gave his friend an encourage smile.

"Ash is right Naruto," spoke Balto as he looked over at group members. "We just have to have faith on our journey. Now come on, let's keep moving."

The group soon got moving again with Nightrun carrying Vivio by the scruff of the neck while Mel walked between Ash and Naruto. The journey was uneventful as the pack members stuck together. Along their journey they were suddenly startled by the sound of a gun being fired off from somewhere and the group quickly froze for a moment, but soon moved on. Tiger was walking beside Balto as he whispered to the leader about the event that had occurred a few moments ago.

"The sound of the gun really riled everyone up," whispered the wolf monster in a low voice.

"Can you blame them?" questioned Balto. "After all, guns are the worst thing that any creature would come across, but I am curious on which poor creature the human was shooting at."

"Maybe that human shot down that Murkrow that I had electrocuted earlier," voiced the wolf monster smirk.

Balto chuckled as he turned to look at Tiger: "That's wishful thinking Tiger, but maybe the human did or he just scared that cowardly bird away from his crops."

Tiger only grunted and soon became silent again as they continued their journey. The sun began to set within the sky as it bathed the land in a bright crimson light until it disappeared over the western horizon as night time came upon the world. The group was soon passing through a graveyard and they were showing signs of fatigued.

"We'll have to stop soon Balto," said Tiger as he walked up beside the leader. "They're frightened and tired."

Balto looked over at his pack members before he started searching for a good place where the group could rest for the night. He soon spotted a shed that wasn't too far away from them.

"There," voiced Balto as he nodded his head towards the shed. "We'll rest there."

"We can't rest there, that's a man's place" argued Tiger when he saw the shed.

"There are no men there now," said Balto before he began to lead the group towards the shed.

The group followed after Balto in a sluggish matter. Naruto, who was usually full of energy, was dragging his paws through the dirt as he walked along side Rocket, who support Naruto as the orange wolf leaned up against his body. Toboe was walking a few feet behind Balto with his feet dragging along the dirt as well. Exile was gently nudging Mel along as the golden retriever was nearing his last leg. Vivio was also being gently nudged by Nightrun with Ash slowly walking alongside the tired she-wolf. Bonnie was limping tiredly along with Thomas walking alongside her to make sure that she didn't fall over. Swiftkill and Tiger walked behind the group as they made sure that none of their pack members were a step behind from each other. Balto came up to the door of the shed, which was opened, before he slowly stuck his head inside to see if the coast was clear. The wolf-dog saw no danger inside and he looked over at his companions.

"It looks alright," said Balto before he entered the shed first.

The others followed after their leader as they lazily entered shed where they all collapsed in the middle of the floor. The pack members curled up close to one another, except for Tiger as he dragged himself a few feet away from the group before he finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The group soon fell into a peaceful sleep as they rested up for the long journey ahead, but what the pack members didn't know was that they weren't entirely safe within the shed that they had found.

In the middle of the night, as the pack members slept in silent bliss, a group of Rattata appeared on the shed's ceiling beams as they glared down at the pack members that had entered their home. A few began to crawl down a wooden beam that led down to the ground. One of the Rattata that had made it down the floor before its companions turned its attention on Tiger, who was the furthest away from the group. The rat Pokémon hissed before it darted towards Tiger and bit down on the out stretched left foreleg of the wolf monster. Tiger quickly woke up with a snarl as he reared up on his hind legs.

The group quickly woke up when they heard the commotion and they all turned their attention to Tiger. The wolf monster landed back down on the ground as he quickly grabbed hold of the Rattata that had bitten his leg with his fangs before he threw it back to where it came from as it barreled into its own kin. Vivio quickly ducked behind a shovel, but it soon fell over and loudly crashed to the floor. In the rafters, a Noctowl was roosting in the shadows. It was startled awake from the noise and it quickly looked down at the ground to see what was going on.

Balto and his pack members began to run around the room as they dodged the Rattata that try to bite at their legs or tails. Mel and Vivio were cornered by five Rattata with Mel standing in front of Vivio as he got ready to protect the female golden retriever, but they were quickly saved by Ash and Nightrun. Ash pounced on the rats as he grabbed one in his jaws before throwing it hard into the wall while the other Rattata ran away in fear by Nightrun viciously growling at them.

Ash quickly turned to look at the golden retriever pups: "Mel, take Vivio and get her out of here. We'll follow right behind you."

"Right," said Mel before he ran out of the shed with Vivio following close behind him.

Ash and Nightrun quickly took care of the Rattata before they followed after the pups. Naruto, who was fighting for his life, swiped at a Rattata that blocked his path to the door before he jumped over the Pokémon and headed towards the exit. Exile and Thomas followed after the orange wolf with Rocket and Bonnie coming right up behind them. Swiftkill was fighting against 20 Rattata until they were suddenly scared away by Tiger's lightning attack. The she-wolf looked at the wolf monster for a moment before she quickly headed to the door with Tiger right behind her.

The Noctowl became annoyed with all the noise that the Rattata and wolves/dogs were making. It soon decided to fly down from its perch and grab either a Rattata or one of Balto's pack members. The owl Pokémon swooped down near Toboe, but the young wolf pup quickly ducked before he ran towards the door of the shed. Balto, the last one to leave the shed, was facing off against a group of Rattata before he saw the Noctowl flying towards him. For a moment it looked like the wolf-dog was trapped until Balto did something daring. Balto quickly leapt over the Rattata before pushing off the wall and flying over the Noctowl. He landed on the ground again before he shot towards the shed door.

The owl Pokémon was so startled by the wolf-dog flying over its head that it didn't look where it was going until it was too late. The bird soon collided with a few rakes and shovels that all fell to the floor which startled the Rattata so much that they scattered everywhere. Balto quickly met up with his pack members who were waiting outside for him.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Balto was he came up to his group.

"All present and a counted for," replied Swiftkill as she answered Balto's question.

Naruto was sitting beside Ash as he tried to catch his breath before he spoke up among his pack members.

"Now that is what I would call 'a rude awakening'" said the orange wolf in a joking matter.

"Very funny Naruto," muttered Ash as he gave his friend a tired look.

"At least we got out of there before it got too serious," said Thomas.

"Those Rattata are annoying pests-ski," grumbled Exile before he licked a bite wound that he received on his back leg.

"I couldn't agree with you more Exile," said Rocket as he looked at his husky friend with a nod of his head.

"I can't stand those…ugh, rat Pokémon" growled Bonnie angrily. "Now I'm really regretting in coming along on this pointless journey."

"Well it's too late go back now," Nightrun pointed out to the brown she-wolf.

Balto let out a sigh before he spoke: "Come on, let's get moving."

The group soon headed out again with Balto leading the way at a steady walk. Tiger walked behind the group with Swiftkill walking alongside him with a frown on her face.

"I could have handled it myself you know," voiced the she-wolf.

"Of course you could," said Tiger as he looked at Swiftkill. "I just thought I'd help out my longtime rival."

Swiftkill looked at Tiger in anger: "Well next time, don't help me."

"Fine, but you owe me," muttered Tiger.

With that said, the group continued on in silence with dawn approaching over the eastern sky.

To be continued

My original plan was for Bonnie to be killed and carried off by a dragon, but I wanted to keep this story at the T rating. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also I still need help with the other characters that I'm trying to put in my story, so I want to hear your suggestions on who the characters should be acting the parts of:

Woundwort

Cowslip

Blackavard

Campion

White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!


	4. Chapter 4

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

The Den of the shinning wire

Balto and his crew journeyed many miles as they traveled to the place where Toboe said it would be safe home for them. It was a long journey for the pack and there were signs of hunger and exhaustion throughout the group. They hadn't been able to find any shelter or a safe place to rest for a while and some of the pack members were growing acne. They were walking across a wide opened field with clouds hanging high above their heads. Naruto was walking at a slow pace when he suddenly felt his right back leg getting caught on something. The orange wolf looked down and saw that his paw was wedged between two small roots of a dead tree. Naruto let out a small growl as he started to tug his leg to get it out.

Ash quickly saw that Naruto was stuck and started to help his friend out by grabbing the root with his fangs and pulling at it slightly upwards. The root soon loosened up enough so that Naruto could pull his hind paw out. Naruto looked at Ash and gave the black wolf a grateful smile before sighing as he sat down on the ground.

"Usually I'm the one that has a lot of energy," said Naruto as he looked up at his pack members who had all stopped to look back at the orange wolf. "But right now I feel like a lazy slug."

"Well I've had enough!" exclaimed Bonnie as she began to show her anger to her pack members. "I'm hungry, I'm tired and I'm soar!"

Balto looked at Bonnie before he surveyed his surrounding: "We can't rest here, it's too open."

"I have to agree with Balto," spoke Nightrun as she sat down on the ground with Vivio and Mel lying between or in front of the she-wolf's front paws.

"Hump," Bonnie huffed in anger. "We can't do this, we can't do that. We've been following Toboe's vision for, like, forever."

"And it's not like it's getting any clear-ski," stepped in Exile as he walked up to Balto.

"Yeah," agreed Naruto with a nod of his head. "I mean, do you guy's see any high hills? Because I don't see any hills what so ever."

"And look at this place," added Bonnie as she stared out at the opened field before her. "It's the end of the world."

"Well we can't stop now Bonnie," said Ash as he walked up to the brown she-wolf.

"That's easy for you to say!" barked Bonnie as she glared at the black male wolf angrily. "I'm not use to this kind of terrain!"

"That's enough Bonnie!" growled Swiftkill as she jumped between Ash and Bonnie. "Look, we can't stay here so we have to keep moving. And if I hear you complaining one more time I'll personally rip off your ears!"

Bonnie quickly became quiet as she started trotting before running ahead of the group with Exile, Toboe and Naruto following right behind her. Nightrun was trying to get the golden retriever pups back up onto their paws, but Mel and Vivio were too tired to move. Rocket quickly came up to Nightrun when he saw that the pups wouldn't get up.

"Do you need some help?" asked the Borzoi.

"Yes I do," replied Nightrun as she looked up at Rocket.

Ash also came up to help as he lay down on the ground before he looked over at Mel.

"Come on little buddy," Ash urged the male golden retriever pup. "You can ride on my back for a while."

"O-okay," panted Mel before he slowly stood up on his paws again.

Mel walked up to Ash's side before he lazily jumped to get up on the older male's back. The pup's paws rested on top of Ash's back as he tried to pull himself up. Ash reached over with his head as he gently pushed Mel up onto his back until the pup was fully on top of him. Ash slowly stood up from the ground as Mel lay on his back like a small golden puff ball. Rocket soon lay down as he volunteered to carry Vivio on his back for he knew that Nightrun was too tired to carry the female golden retriever pup in her mouth. Nightrun gently grabbed Vivio by the back of the neck and lifted her up before setting her on the back of the Borzoi. Once the small pup was on, Rocket slowly stood up from the ground.

Rocket turned his head to look at Vivio, who lay tiredly on his back: "You okay up there kiddo?"

"Yes, Rocket-San" replied Vivio with a nod of her head.

"Alright then," said Rocket with a smile. "Let's catch up with the others."

Ash and Nightrun nodded their heads as they began to follow after the Borzoi. Balto stood where he was as he watched his group members go ahead of him before he looked at Tiger and Swiftkill, who walked up to him with frowns on their faces. Tiger sat on the ground as he stared at his leader intensely.

"Everyone is getting tired Balto," reasoned Tiger as Swiftkill sat beside him. "If we keep going on like this then they won't be able to keep up."

"I have to agree with Tiger on this one," said Swiftkill before she glanced over at the group who were just ahead of them. "I'm also worried about Mel and Vivio. Those two aren't made for long distances like we are. They're still pups after all."

Balto silently agreed as he looked over at his pack members who were waiting for them on top of a small hill. They had to find a safe place soon or the others won't make it.

"We'll just have to make out the best we can," said Balto.

With that said, Balto trotted forward to catch up with the others with Tiger and Swiftkill coming up right behind him. Suddenly there was a crash overhead and Bonnie was the first one to point out the obvious.

"Great, a storm is starting to form over our heads. That's all we need."

"Thank you 'Captain Obvious'" muttered Naruto.

Soon, raindrops started to fall from the sky in little spits at first until it changed into a downpour. The group traveled through the rain until they came to rest under a clump of holly trees and bushes where they were sheltered for the time being. Rocket and Ash let the Vivio and Mel off of their backs before the group started to organize them-selves as they tried to huddle under the branches of the shrubbery. Mel shook the water out of his fur before he spoke up among his pack members.

"I wonder what everyone is doing back home?" asked the young golden retriever pup.

"Probably a lot better off than we are," muttered Bonnie as she lay down on the ground while resting her head on her paws.

"Yeah," said Naruto with a sigh. "Remember back when we lived in our own dens, eh? Dry, soft and with warm bodies…Achoo!"

"Bless you," spoke Nightrun as she raised her head up to look at Naruto before she went back to grooming Vivio who lay between her paws.

Balto was shaking himself dry before Rocket came up to him. The wolf-dog knew that the Borzoi wanted to talk to him.

"What's wrong Rocket?" asked Balto in concern.

"Well…" started Rocket before he sighed in exhaustion. "Listen Balto, we can't go on like this. Mel and Vivio are growing tired throughout our journey and we hadn't eaten in days."

"And its getting worse and worse the farther we go," added Ash as he and Exile joined in on the conversation.

"Da," spoke Exile with a nod of his head before a question came popping into his mind "Where are we going comrade?"

Balto hesitated for a moment before he finally spoke the question: "It won't be much longer. Then we can all rest."

Exile wasn't entirely convinced and he questioned Balto further: "How much longer-ski?"

"We never should have left in the first place," spoke Bonnie angrily as she stood back up on her paws.

Balto looked down at the ground as he began to feel that everyone was beginning to doubt his leadership and he too began to doubt that there _was_ such a safe place for them.

Thomas was the next one to speak among his pack members: "Suppose, Toboe's all wrong."

"Thomas is right," said Naruto as he agreed with the Border collie. "If what Toboe is saying is true then we should go back and find out."

Balto was shocked at what Naruto had said: "Go back? After all we've been through?"

"And probably get killed for wounding Captain Ben, an Owslra officer?" growled Tiger angrily as he glared at his pack members. "Talk sense for Frith's sake!"

"We have to keep going, until we reach the hills" said Toboe as he entered the conversation. "Those who go back…."

The young wolf pup trailed off as his body began to shake. Swiftkill noticed this as she came up to check on Toboe with a worried look crossing over her face.

"Toboe, are you okay?" asked the she-wolf solider.

Toboe didn't answer for he was looking franticly around him with his eyes small and distant.

"We're…not safe," whispered Toboe as he grew more terrified by the minute "Not…safe."

Swiftkill looked at Toboe in confusion before looking around at the underbrush that they were taking shelter in. How could they not be safe? This place looked safe to the she-wolf. Back with Balto, the others were still questioning the wolf-dog's leadership as Bonnie walked up and stood in front of the older pack member with a glare crossing over her face.

"I don't believe you know _where_ you're going, half breed" growled the she-wolf.

Those words made Balto winch as he bow his head. Bonnie's words really stun at the wolf-dog's heart, but he was quickly taken by surprise when Tiger suddenly jumped into the conversation as the wolf monster glared down at the pack members.

"Now you listen to me you lip smacking, maw breaking…" started Tiger as he was about to lecture the pack members, but was interrupted by Thomas who started to snarl in warning.

The group quickly turned to see what the problem was and saw a strange looking wolf sitting in front of them as he stood under the droplets of rain that poured down from the sky. The wolf had white-grey fur and small brown eyes that stared at the pack members with an unconcerned look on his face. Despite being slightly old the wolf held himself up regally as if he were royalty.

Balto and his pack members stood alert as they glared at the unwelcomed visitor in suspicion. Vivio quickly hid between Nightrun's front paws while Mel stood glaring at the stranger along with everyone else. The group stared at the stranger in front of them in distrust before the stranger began to speak.

"It looks like you've come along way," said the stranger.

"Do you…live here?" questioned Balto.

"Yes," replied the stranger. "This is my packs' territory."

"Well we need a place to stay for a while," said Balto as he gestured over his group on how tired they were.

"Why not," said the stranger. "We supposed you would. But I don't think that there are enough of you to live comfortably…by yourselves."

"There are enough of us to protect ourselves!" growled Tiger as he glared at the stranger in front of him.

"Don't get upset," said the wolf as Tiger came up to inspect him.

"Who are you and what do you want?" questioned Tiger with a snarl.

"My name is Frollo," answered the wolf in a simple voice. "And I don't want anything."

"If not you, then what about the others?" questioned Swiftkill as she came up to inspect the stranger as well.

Frollo didn't answer Swiftkill's question as he suddenly switched to another subject all together.

"We have plenty of empty dens for you to live in, if you care to join us." Frollo said before he stood up on his paws. "And now, if you'll all excuse me, I hate the rain."

With that said, the old wolf trotted away from the group as he headed across an opened field before going down a large hole, which was the den's entrance, that was dug in the side of a medium sized hill. The pack members were left in a state of confusion before they started smelling the air around them.

"Does anyone else smell that?" asked Nightrun to her group.

"I do," replied Rocket with a frown.

"What a funny smell," said Mel as he sniffed the air.

Toboe was sitting away from the group with sour look on his face: "We ought to have nothing to do with that wolf Frollo or his territory."

"But he did offer us to stay in his den and territory for a while," reasoned Nightrun to Toboe.

"And it might be drier in there than out here," muttered Bonnie as droplets of water fell on her head.

"What is he going to think of us if we don't go in?" asked Vivio in a small voice.

"I'll tell you," said Naruto as he began to answer Vivio's question. "He'd think we're afraid."

Tiger became defensive after he heard what Naruto had said: "Afraid, who's afraid?"

"No one is Tiger," said Swiftkill.

"He seems friendly enough," spoke Ash as he came to stand beside Thomas.

"Yes," muttered Thomas in an unsure voice before he looked at his group members. "But what has he got to gain by asking us to join him?"

"Well we can just stand out here all night looking like fools," growled Tiger as he glared at his pack members.

"For once, I agree with Tiger," said Bonnie as she stood up on her paws again. "I'd say we go in there now!"

"Well then let's go!" exclaimed Ash in enthusiasm.

"Right behind you comrade!" barked Exile as he began to follow after the black wolf.

The others began to follow, but Balto and Toboe stayed behind for a while in hesitation.

"They think I'm made," said Toboe as he walked up to his adopted brother. "But you know I'm not, and yet you still won't listen."

Balto frowned as he looked down at his brother before glancing over his shoulder to see the rest of his pack members entering the den. Balto knew that he should listen to his brother, but he was exhausted and tired like the rest of his group. The wolf-dog soon turned to look at Toboe again.

"Toboe listen, the others have been growing tired throughout the journey and we need a place to rest for the night. It's only going to be for a short while and then we'll be on our way again."

"I'm not so sure that any of us will survive for just a _little while_," muttered Toboe.

Balto sighed in exasperation before he stood up and began to follow after the others. Toboe look saddened that his brother wouldn't listen to him. The pup slowly followed after Balto, who was waiting for him near the den's entrance.

"Come on Toboe," said Balto as he urged his brother to move faster.

Balto soon walked into the den with Toboe coming up behind him. When the two entered the den they noticed that it was no ordinary one. The tunnel entrance was longer and wider than any other den that Balto and Toboe had ever experienced.

"There you two are," spoke Swiftkill as she came up to the two brothers. "Everyone was waiting for you."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Balto in apology before he walked deeper into the den.

Toboe was close behind him as they followed Swiftkill, who led them to the others. As they walked Balto noticed that the den wasn't much of a wolf's den at all, and it also had a strange scent to it as well.

"There's that smell again ski," muttered Exile as a frown came over his face.

"It almost smells like…man," said Rocket as he and Naruto looked at each other in confusion.

The group continued on wards for a while until they came to a large chamber where they saw Frollo sitting with his back towards them and on the floor was a pile of fresh meat. Frollo turned to look over his shoulder when he heard Balto and his group members coming in.

"Oh it's you is it?" asked Frollo in that same calm voice of his. "How nice, we're so glad that you have come."

"This is rather a large den that you have," observed Thomas with a frown.

Frollo nodded his head: "Yes, please help your-selves to some fresh meat. There are fresh scraps here daily. The man…throws it out."

"Man, what man?" asked Balto when he heard what Frollo had said.

Frollo quickly dodged the question by changing the subject: "A lot of the dens are lying empty so…you're free to any that you choose."

"Where are all the others?" asked Nightrun when she noticed that there weren't many wolves or wild dogs within the den.

Frollo dodged Nightrun's question by changing the subject again: "Please, eat all you like we'll leave you to yourselves."

With that Frollo and a few of his pack members left Balto and his group in the chamber. Naruto, Ash and Rocket looked at one another with a frown of confusion forming on all of their muzzles. As for Swiftkill, she was growing suspicious of their host and decided to not let her guard down.

The group started to help themselves to some of the scraps of meat, except for Toboe who was looking around the chamber with a frown on his face. Mel and Vivio were sharing a few pieces of meat together while Nightrun watched them. Ash soon came up to Nightrun with a large slab of meat in his jaws before placing it on the ground in front of her. Nightrun accepted the offering as she gave Ash a smile while the male blushed underneath his fur. Bonnie was eating by herself as she gorged herself on the biggest scrap of meat that she could find in the pile. Naruto and Rocket were playing tug-of-war on a piece of bone that the blonde wolf had found in the pile. The others were enjoying their meal before Toboe finally spoke.

"Where are they all?" questioned the wolf pup.

"Where?" echoed Balto as he raised his head up from his meal, "Try asking Frollo where anything."

"But it's quite strange to see so few wolves and wild dog members in this place," said Nightrun as she pointed out the thing that bothered her most.

"And they all seem sad," said Vivio as she lifted her head up as she enter the conversation. "Like trees in November."

"Yeah, well I still think we'd made a change for the better," said Tiger before he started chewing on his scrap of meat again.

"Do you think the man left the food out there because of a kind heart?" asked Toboe as he looked at his pack members.

"Well…it's not poison," said Rocket as he accidently let go of the bone that he was holding on to.

Naruto tumbled backwards with the bone still clenched between his teeth as he fell onto his back. The pack members chuckled at their friend while Naruto blushed out of embarrassment. Toboe didn't laugh as he continued to look around the place with a far off look within his eyes.

"There's just something unnatural and evil and twisted about this place," the young wolf continued on as the others stared at him strangely. "It feels…it feels like mist. I'm being deceived and losing our way."

"Will you give it a rest Toboe," growled Bonnie as she stood up and walked over to the pile of scrap meat. "All that whimpering and worrying of yours is starting to give me a stomachache."

"Says the female who says that she is trying to watch her weight," Naruto joked with a smirk on his muzzle.

Bonnie turned to glare at Naruto with an anime cross-popping vein appearing on the side of her head. The group, except for Toboe, smirked in amusement before Frollo's voice suddenly spoke up as the old wolf appeared in front of the group.

"Pardon my interruption my friends," said Frollo. "Some of us are gathering and suggesting stories. We're hoping you would tell one to us."

Exile stepped up from among his group members as he spoke: "Comrade Balto can tell you about our adventures and how we had the good luck of joining you. I'm sure there's no harm in that."

Many for Frollo's pack members whispered among each other for a moment before Frollo shushed them with a wave of his front paw. Balto frowned in hesitation before turning to look at Nightrun who looked back at him with a smile for she knew what he wanted her to do.

"Uh…Nightrun, why don't you tell us the story of White Fang-rah?" asked the wolf-dog politely.

Nightrun was about to reply when she was suddenly interrupted by Frollo.

"White Fang-rah and his trickery do really mean very much to us," said Frollo in a regal tone of voice. "Charming as it is."

"Wolves and wild-dog will always need tricks," spoke Balto with a frown as Tiger nodded his head in agreement.

"No, we need dignity," Frollo said with his head held high. "And above all, the will to accept our fate, as one of our poets is fond of saying, if I may quote…"

Balto's pack members nodded and mumbled for Frollo to proceed, for they were curious to know what the old wolf was about to say. Frollo cleared his throat before he began to speak.

"_Where are you going stream?_

_Far, far away_

_Take me with you stream_

_Take me on your long dark journey_

_Lord Frith, take me far away, to the heart of light._

_The silence_

_I give you my breath, my life, for the silence._"

"I've had enough!" barked Toboe in an angry voice before he ran out of the chamber as he followed the tunnel back outside.

Balto, Tiger and Swiftkill glanced down the tunnel that Toboe had taken before looking at one another in annoyance and confusion. Balto quickly followed after his brother with Swiftkill right behind him. The two came out of the den and into the fresh air again. The rain had stopped a few short moments ago as light grey clouds floated in the sky. Balto quickly spotted Toboe as the wolf pup ran to the same place that the pack members had taken shelter in before they'd met Frollo.

"Come on," said Balto as he followed after his adopted brother.

"Right behind you," spoke Swiftkill as she tailed after the wolf-dog.

The two soon caught up to Toboe, who was sitting under one of the holly trees. Balto quickly came to a stop as he and Swiftkill stood behind the young wolf who sat before them.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Swiftkill with a frown.

"Away…to the hills," replied Toboe bluntly.

"By yourself, alone?" questioned Balto as he quickly walked in front of the pup with worry written over his face. "But you'll die out there on your own."

"You two are a lot worse off than I will be," said Toboe in a dull voice.

Tiger soon came up to the trio with an annoyed look on his face. After he heard what Toboe had said his temper started to get the best to him as he started shout at Toboe.

"You're determined to make it worse for us aren't you?" growled Tiger angrily.

"NO!" exclaimed Toboe as he looked at the wolf monster that stood behind him.

"Me, me, me, all the time!" snapped Tiger as he continued on.

"Tiger stop it!" snarled Swiftkill as she became angry at the wolf monster for yelling at the young wolf pup.

"I'm in a mist," said Tiger as he started to mimic Toboe's voice.

"Tiger!" barked Toboe as he tried to explain himself.

"Every thing's bad, I got a funny feeling in my toes."

"No, no, that's not it I…" started Toboe, but Tiger cut the pup off as he finally roared out at Toboe in fury.

"By the fangs' of our ancestors, I've had it with you. And what's more I'm going to make sure that everyone else has too."

Toboe hung his head in depression after he heard what Tiger had said. Swiftkill glared at Tiger as the wolf monster ran back to the den while pushing through some bushes to get through. Balto looked down at his adoptive brother sadly and was about to say something to comfort him when the trio suddenly heard Tiger let out a shout. The trio looked at one another in concern before Balto went to the bush, which Tiger had gone through, to see what was going on. The sight that met the wolf-dog's eyes sent a fear of dread within his heart.

Tiger was lying on the ground with a loop of metal wire that was clutched tightly around the wolf's neck. The wire was planted deep in the ground as the loop around Tiger's neck tightened every time the proud soldier yanked on it.

"Oh Frith," breathed Balto as he came to stand beside Tiger with Swiftkill and Toboe following right behind him. "Tiger you're in a snare, a snare. Now what did they tell you in the Owsla?"

"Come on horn head, think!" exclaimed Swiftkill before she tried to bit through the long end of the snare.

"It's no good biting wire," spoke Tiger in a choked voice.

Swiftkill drew her head back as she looked down at Tiger in fear. Balto remained calm as he turned to look at Toboe.

"Run Toboe, run to the den and get the others," ordered Balto as he took command of the situation. "Thomas, Exile and Frollo, be quick he'll die!"

Toboe quickly did what he was told as he raced back to the den: "Thomas! Rocket! Come quickly!"

Tiger's breathing became labor as the loop grew tighter around his neck. Swiftkill nudged Tiger with her nose as she started speaking to him.

"Hang on Tiger. The others are on their way." Swiftkill whispered as she tried to keep the wolf monster awake.

Balto looked down at his friend in fear before he heard the sound of paws coming towards them. The wolf-dog quickly raised his head up and saw his pack members coming towards him.

"This way, hurry!" exclaimed Toboe as he lead the group. "It's Tiger! He's caught in a snare!"

Balto quickly told the group about the situation once they stood around him: "He's still breathing. What can we do?"

"We've got to loosen the wire somehow," said Thomas as he answered Balto's question.

"Yeah but how?" asked Naruto as he and Ash looked at each other helplessly.

"Is Frollo coming?" asked Balto when he noticed that the old wolf wasn't with them. "Maybe he knows something about how to get Tiger out of this trap."

"He wouldn't come," spoke Toboe as he answered Balto's question. "He told me to stop talking about it."

"He told you what!?" exclaimed Swiftkill angrily when she heard what Toboe had said to his brother.

"This is it!" barked Thomas as he found the spot where the wire was anchored down. "The wire is on a peg. We've got to dig it out."

"The peg's narrower down there," said Exile as he quickly stepped up and started digging near the edge of the peg. "It tappers at the bottom, but I won't be able to get my teeth around it."

"Mel, you go in," Thomas instructed as the little golden retriever pup quickly ran up to the peg.

Exile stepped back as he let the pup continue on with the digging. Tiger's breathing became weaker as blood started to drip out of his mouth.

"The splinter's are prickly at the bottom," Mel informed the group as he got nearer to the peg's bottom. "But the peg's nearly through."

"Toboe you go in," said Balto.

Toboe quickly ran over to the peg as he bent his head down and bit his teeth down near the base.

"I can't feel him breathing!" exclaimed Nightrun as she lightly placed a paw down on the wolf monster's side.

Toboe bit down hard and the peg snapped: "It's broken in two, it's free!"

Tiger slowly opened his eyes as he tried to look up at his pack members, but all he could see were shadows. His vision began to grow blurry before his eye lids finally closed. Balto came near the wolf monster's side and started to speak in a soft voice.

"Tiger, the peg is out…you're free," spoke Balto as he informed the wolf officer the good news.

There was no response from Tiger as he lay on the ground unmoving. The others began to feel dread within their hearts as they looked down at the still body of their comrade.

"I…I think he's gone," spoke Thomas among the group.

Swiftkill felt tears running down her face as she walked up to the still body of her rival and began to nudge the side of Tiger's face with her nose. Bonnie shook her head in disbelief as she stood between Rocket and Naruto.

"N…no," whispered Bonnie in denial. "He can't be gone, he just can't be."

"Please Tiger, wake up," said Swiftkill as her voice cracked. "We'd just got you out."

"Tiger please don't die," whimpered Vivio as tears ran down her face.

"It's no use," said Rocket as he hung his head in sadness. "His spirit has already left us."

Sadness grew within the hearts' of the pack members as they circled around the body of their fallen comrade.

"What are we going to do without him?" asked Mel sadly as tears also ran down his face.

Balto sadly hung his head down along with his other pack members before he began to speak a prayer for their dead friend.

"Oh Frith, my heart has joined a thousand, for my friend has stopped running today."

The group was silent as they sat around the body of Tiger, a wolf whose courage was forever admired by many within the Owsla. Bonnie, for the first time in her life, felt cold inside as the sadness of Tiger's death overwhelmed her. She had never felt any love for her pack members within her clan and now, after traveling with her pack members for a while, she began to grow a bond that she couldn't explain no matter how hard she tried. The silence within the group was quickly disturbed by Toboe who had a furious look on his face.

"You all paid for it!" growled the wolf pup. "The food, the den, but nobody would ask where anyone was or speak of the wires! The whole place is snared, everywhere, everyday!"

"They left Comrade Tiger to die!" exclaimed Exile as anger replaced his sadness.

"Exile's right!" barked Naruto in agreement as he slammed his front paw down on the ground. "Let's drive those despicable wolves and wild-dogs out their territory and live there ourselves!"

"Yes!" snarled Rocket.

"Back to the den!" yelled Ash as he stood up on his paws.

The other's, except for Balto, Toboe, Nightrun, Swiftkill, Vivio and Mel, stood up on their paws and where about to run back to the den when Toboe suddenly began to yell at them in frustration.

"Oh by the fangs of our ancestors, you _fools'_! That place is nothing but a death hole! Oh sure, let's help ourselves to a life of bones!"

"I'll kill them all," spoke a voice that surprised everyone as they looked down and what they saw made their hearts leap with joy.

Lying on the ground was Tiger, who was breathing once again as he slowly raised his head up from the ground.

"TIGER!" shouted the group as they gathered around the wolf monster.

"You're alive!" cheered Mel as he and Vivio started leaping and running around Tiger in happiness.

"Are you alright?" asked Nightrun in concern.

"We thought you were dead," said Naruto.

"Tiger," breathed Swiftkill as she nudged her head against the wolf monster's shoulder.

"Alright everyone, give him space," spoke Balto as he told everyone to back off. "Let him rest."

"I don't have to rest," growled Tiger stubbornly as he slowly lifted himself up onto his front paws before falling back down for a moment.

Tiger soon pushed his front paws through the loop before pulling downwards as he loosened it around his neck. Swiftkill quickly helped him as she grabbed the loop of the wire and gently pulled it off the blue wolf's head. Tiger looked up at Swiftkill as he gave her a nod of gratitude before turning his attention on Toboe.

"What do we do now Toboe?" asked the wolf monster.

"Get away from here," replied Toboe as he answered Tiger's question. "As fast as we can."

Tiger nodded before he slowly climbed up onto his paws as he summoned up all of his strength to stand. Swiftkill walked up to Tiger's side as she let the wolf lean up against her. Ash came up to the other side of Tiger as he helped the Owsla officer to walk. The pack members soon started out on their journey again as they traveled as far away from the Den of the Shinning Wire with high joy that their friend was alright.

Scene change

Balto and his pack members were resting in a thicket as they rested for a while for Tiger to regain his strength. Balto slowly raised his head from his paws as he looked at all of his pack members before he noticed that Toboe wasn't with the group. The wolf-dog quickly stood up from the ground and started looking around for his adopted brother before he finally spotted the pup. Toboe was sitting on a small hill by himself as he stared out at the mist that moved across the landscape before him. Balto slowly walked over to his brother before sitting beside Toboe as he looked out at the landscape in front of him. The two of them were quiet for a moment before Toboe finally spoke.

"Tiger nearly died back at Frollo's territory, but somehow he came back to us."

"Well that's Tiger for you little brother," said Balto as he continued to look out ahead of him. "He's too stubborn to die."

"It still frightens me that we almost lost him," voiced Toboe as he hung his head down to look at the ground.

"You won't be losing me that easily pup," spoke a voice from behind the two brothers.

Balto and Toboe looked behind them in surprise as they saw Tiger walking up to them before he sat down on the other side of Toboe.

"Shouldn't you be resting Tiger?" asked Balto as he gave Tiger an inquisitive look.

"Don't worry about me Balto," said Tiger as he turned his head to look at the wolf-dog with a smirk appearing on his muzzle. "I'm a lot tougher than you think."

Balto only rolled his eyes at the wolf monster while a smile spread out across his face. Tiger soon turned his attention on Toboe who was looking up at him in confusion as the Owsla officer's smile changed to a light frown before the wolf bowed his head at the pup.

"I'm sorry for doubting you Toboe," Tiger apologized in a gently voice. "And I'm also sorry for yelling at you back there at Frollo's territory."

Toboe was surprised to hear an apology coming out of Tiger's mouth before he finally spoke.

"You don't have to apologize to me Tiger," said the young pup. "I'm just glad that you are still here with us."

Tiger looked down at Toboe in surprise before smirking as he turned his attention back on the misty landscape in front of him, but his smirk quickly disappeared as his eyes went wide in shock. Toboe and Balto noticed the change of mood on Tiger's face and became concerned.

"Tiger, what's wrong?" asked Balto in worry.

"Just for a moment, I thought I saw something through the mist," spoke Tiger in a soft voice.

Balto looked at the wolf monster in confusion before he turned his attention out on the landscape again along with Toboe who was also curious to know what Tiger was talking about. Back with the pack members, each group member began to wake up from their rest. Ash let out a yawn as he stretched himself out before he noticed that Tiger, Balto and Toboe weren't with the group.

"Hey, where'd they go?" he asked as he looked at the rest of his pack members.

"They're over there," answered Nightrun as she was the first one to spot Balto, Tiger and Toboe.

The group quickly picked themselves up and started making their way over to their three pack members. Swiftkill was the first one to the trio as she stood beside Tiger. She saw the shocked look on her fellow Owsla's face and became confused.

"What's got your tongue?" she asked.

"Hey, take a look beyond the horizon everyone!" shouted Naruto suddenly as he pointed his left front right paw out in front of him.

The group members, minus Tiger, Balto and Toboe, quickly looked to see where the orange wolf was pointing at. At first all they saw was thick mist, but it soon started to clear and what appeared to the group was something that they had been searching for throughout their journey. Out of the mist were large green hills that slopped down into a deep valley. On top of one of the hills was a large tree with green leaves in full bloom.

"The high hills!" exclaimed Balto as his eyes grew in shock amazement.

"They're real," voiced Bonnie in disbelief.

"Beautiful," breathed Nightrun as she took in the sight in front of her.

The pack members were quiet for a moment before Tiger broke the silence as he let out cheer before he glanced at Toboe for a moment.

"You were right Toboe!" exclaimed Tiger as he stood up on his paws in excitement. "You were right all along!"

The others began to bark or howl out their joy while Balto and Toboe only smiled at their friends before looking at each other in pride. They all stared out towards the horizon as they gazed upon the sight of their new home as hope rose up within their hearts. Their journey was almost over.

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

Visiting the Farm

The group traveled for a long while as they headed towards the high hills to where their new home awaited them. They luckily found some prey along the way and were able to eat to restore their strength. They were now getting ready to stop for the night as the sun was just slowly setting over the horizon. Balto and his pack members gathered under a small patch of thick underbrush that could keep them all out of sight from humans and other creatures that wanted to harm them. Throughout the group's journey, Balto had seen a few changes in his pack members.

Bonnie had become less sassy and bad tempered towards the others. She was actually showing a kinder side to some of the younger members of the pack. One time, Bonnie offered to carry Vivio for Nightrun for a while which the black female wolf accepted with some hesitation.

Swiftkill was always seen walking beside Tiger to make sure that he was alright. Ash, Naruto and Rocket have become the dynamic trio that always watched each-other's backs, but sometimes Ash would walk alongside Nightrun and Vivio for a while, while striking up a conversation with the female wolf. Mel was becoming stronger throughout the journey as he proved himself time and again that he was able to take care of himself. Balto had to say that he was proud at how much his pack members were growing stronger and changing each day.

The sun began to set over the western hills as Balto and his companions began to settle down for the night. They began to huddle together for warmth as they got ready to sleep. Balto looked over his group members for a moment before he lay down close to his friends as he rested his head on top of his front paws. The wolf/dog soon closed his eyes and fell into blissful sleep.

23 Hours Later

The sky started to grow lighter as the sun began to slowly rise over the earth again. Balto continued to sleep for a while before the wolf/dog's eyes shot open when he suddenly picked up the scent of something familiar on the wind. Balto raised his head up from his front paws before sitting up. The wolf/dog lifted his head as he sniffed the air for a few seconds before standing up and walking away from the group. Balto slowly crept out from the underbrush before casting his gaze on a house made of bricks and a wooden barn that stood two feet beside it. Balto's focus was mainly on the barn for that was where the familiar scent was coming from. Determination crossed over Balto's face as the wolf/dog ducked back into the underbrush and began to make his way over to his pack members, who were all still asleep.

"Mel, Ash," whispered Balto to two of his pack members.

Ash's ears twitched when the young black wolf heard Balto calling out his name. The black wolf raised his head up from his front paws before letting out a long yawn.

"Balto?" asked Ash tiredly as he turned to look at his leader. "What's up?"

Balto gently shushed the black wolf before speaking in a low voice: "I'll explain everything once you wake up Mel, alright?"

Ash blinked at Balto in confusion but nodded his head none the less at his leader. The black wolf soon turned his head to his left side where he found the young male golden retriever sleeping right beside him.

"Mel, wake up," whispered Ash as he gently nudged the pup with his nose.

Mel let out a quiet moan before he slowly opened his eyes. The young golden retriever raised his head up from his paws and looked up at Ash in tired confusion.

"W-what is it?" asked the young pup.

"Balto wants us for something," answered Ash as the black wolf raised himself up onto his paws. "Come on."

The golden retriever looked at the black wolf curiously before he slowly got up on to his paws as well and followed Ash. The two pack members followed their leader out from the underbrush before they came over to where Balto. Balto was sitting on the ground as the wolf/dog continued to stare out at the barn for a moment before turning his head towards his companions.

"Okay Balto, what is it you want from us that it couldn't wait until morning?" asked Ash as he sat down with Mel sitting beside him.

"Well," Balto whispered before the wolf/dog turned his head back to the farm again. "What do you two say about looking around a human's farm for a bit?"

"A farm Balto?" questioned Ash as he looked at Balto as if he was crazy. "Why do you want to trespass on a human's territory for?"

"Ash is right Balto," spoke Mel in agreement. "Stepping onto human territory will only cause us trouble. Also there are jungle cats and Dobermon living on that farm."

"Well I've got a little plan," said Balto with a smirk.

Ash frowned at his leader for a moment before looking at the farm: "Is it going to be a dangerous mission?"

"Of course not," replied Balto in reassurance.

"Is…is it safe?" asked Mel hesitantly.

"Of course," answered Balto with a smile.

"Well, if we're going then we might want to take two more of our group members with us," said Ash as he stood up and was about to walk back into the underbrush to wake up two of his friends.

"No," said Balto as he stopped the black wolf "Just you, Mel…and me."

Ash and Mel looked at their leader for a moment before looking at each other. The two let out a sigh before they reluctantly followed their leader to the farm. The journey to the farm was a long one, but the three soon made it before the sun was barely peaking over the horizon. The trio quietly snuck along the grounds of the farm before hiding behind some barrels. Balto stuck his head out from their hiding place as he began to sniff the air to see if there was any danger nearby. He slowly stepped out into the clearing with Ash and Mel following behind him, but the golden retriever pup quickly tensed.

"I think I see a Dobermon," whispered the pup as he took a step back.

Ash started looking around the area to see where the Dobermon was: "Where?"

Balto quickly spotted the digital dog as he saw it sleeping in a large dog house with a rope tied around its collar.

"Over there," answered Balto calmly. "Don't worry though, he's asleep and he's also tied up as well. But let's give it a wide birth we don't want him to wake up the whole farm."

The two younger pack members nodded their heads at their leader and began to follow the wolf/dog across the farm grounds again while sneaking behind the Dobermon's dog house. The trio continued to walk quietly around the grounds of the farm before they stopped in their tracks when they heard the radio being played from the kitchen window with a light shining through the glass.

"They are up," muttered Ash as he glanced up at the window with a frown.

"Yeah…" voiced Mel in agreement before looking up at their leader, "Balto…let's go back."

"Just a little further you two," whispered Balto as he coaxed his friends to continue to follow him.

The two younger pack members followed their leader to the barn where they stopped in front of the door that was opened wide enough for them to enter. The trio slowly poked their heads inside the barn. In the barn were wired fenced kennels with dogs sleeping inside them.

"Dogs," voiced Mel in surprise.

"So that's you're secret plan," said Ash as he looked up at his leader with a smirk.

Balto only smiled back at the black wolf: "I'm going inside to take a look around."

With that said, the wolf/dog slowly walked into the barn and began to look around to see if the place was safe to enter or not. There was nothing threating in the barn as far as the wolf/dog could see. Ash and Mel slowly walked into the barn as they looked around the inside of the barn as well.

"Well, is it safe for us to come in?" asked Ash.

"It's safe," replied Balto. "Now, you and Mel wait here."

"Right," echoed both Ash and Mel with a nod before they took up sentry by the door.

"Also, if you two see a jungle cat," continued Balto. "You'll let me know the second you see it, alright?"

"You got it," replied Ash as he glanced over his shoulder to look at his leader before turning his attention back on keeping look out with Mel.

Balto walked into middle of the barn where he rustled a bit of straw that lay on the dirt floor. That little noise was loud enough to wake up the dogs of the kennel. There were six males and two females in different sets of kennels. The two females were together in one kennel while the six males were all in separate kennels next to each other.

The first female that was in the kennel was a Saluki with brown eyes and light grey/blue fur. Around the female's neck was a red collar.

The second female was a young husky that looked to be around Naruto's age. The female husky looked as if she had some wolf in her. The female had dark blue fur that went from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail. Her face and ears were white along with her chest, legs and stomach. The female husky's eyes were a pale lavender color with no pupils. Two dark strands of the female's fur hung down around the husky's cheeks like locks of hair.

As for the six males they were all German Shepards who were curious about the new male that had suddenly appeared before them. Balto cleared his throat before he began to speak to them.

"My name is Balto," whispered the wolf/dog.

The dogs didn't reply at first for they only looked at the wolf/dog in curiosity so Balto decide to try again while walking towards the two females' kennel.

"Balto," he repeated.

The Saluki stood up from the ground and walked over to her kennel's door where she and Balto came face to face with each other while the female wolf/husky shyly hung back.

"My name is Cross," said the Saluki as she introduced herself. "The shy young female behind me is Hinata. Where'd you come from?"

"Oh, far away," replied Balto as he sat down to talk with the female. "My friends and I live as we please. We hunt and lie in the sun…don't you and your friends ever get out?"

"Oh yes," replied Cross with a nod of her head. "Sometimes my friends and I are let out on hunting trips with our master, but Hinata and I usually play with a child who would come and take us out for walks once in a while."

The two continued to talk for a while as they got to learn more about each other. Back with Ash and Mel, the two were only half listening to the conversation but they quickly stood to attention when they saw their most hated enemy staking around on the grass.

Walking around the farm yard was a lioness that was thin with powerful muscles. The lioness had pale dark tan fur, a grey-cream chest and a darker brown dorsal stripe running down her face and stopping between her blood red eyes. Her ears had two thin dark stripes. Her right ear had a notch in it, probably from fighting another jungle cat. The lioness was stiffing along the ground before she drew her lips up into a smirk.

"This is bad," voiced Ash before he turned to look at Mel. "Mel, go tell Balto that we have an unwelcomed visitor."

Mel quickly nodded his head before he ran off to tell Balto about the lioness. The wolf/dog was just coming to an end of his conversation with Cross before he asked the biggest question that came to his mind.

"Would you and your friends like to join us?" asked Balto.

"Join you?" echoed Cross in surprise, "but how, how can we join you?"

Balto was about to answer when he was suddenly interrupted by Mel who quickly ran up to him.

"Balto," whispered Mel urgently. "There's a lioness outside."

Balto knew that it was time for him and his friends to go. He quickly turned to Cross with an apologetic look coming over his face.

"Sorry, but I have to go back to my friends now," he announced as he stood up and took a couple steps back. "But we'll be back and if any of you wish you can come along with us."

With that said, Balto quickly ran over to Ash with Mel following close behind him. The three crowded near the edge of the door as they all looked out at the farm grounds.

"Where is it?" questioned Balto.

"Just outside, not too far from the barn door," replied Ash as he pointed with his right paw. "I think that over grown fur ball of a feline caught our scent."

"Then I think it's time that we'd make our exit," said Balto calmly. "Now listen you two, I want you both to stay close to me and run when I do."

"Got it," voiced Ash.

"Run when you do," echoed Mel before swallowing nervously.

The trio slowly walked out from the barn with Ash and Mel keeping close to their leader as they faced the lioness that was standing in front of them. The lioness snarled as she glared hungrily at the three wild dogs that stood in front of her. Balto stood calmly with two of his pack members sitting on either side of him.

"You look hungry," stated Balto with a smirk. "Rats getting too clever for you I supposed?"

Ash looked at Balto in confusion before finally understanding what his leader is trying to do and decided to play along with him.

"I bet she can't run at all," spoke Ash confidently.

Balto smirked at Ash before he continued on with his taunting: "Can you run, you pie-eyed, sauce-licking scrap-scraper excuse for a feline?"

"You'll see," growled the lioness as she flexed her claws while positioning herself into a pouncing position.

"We think not," said Ash slowly as he tensed his muscles to get ready to run.

"Now!" shouted Balto at the last second as the lioness pounced towards them.

The trio quickly bolted as they dodged the jungle cat, which crashed into the barn door. The lioness was stunned from the sudden impact for a moment but quickly shook it off and began to chase after the wild dog trio who were running across the grounds of the farm. Balto, Ash and Mel ran as fast as they could with the jungle cat hot on their tails before taking a sharp 'U' turn when the saw the Dobermon awake and barking at them. The lioness quickly made a 'U' turn herself as she barely dodged the Dobermon as the digital dog snapped at the jungle cat's retreating tail. The chase continued on for a while as the trio passed by the back door of the farm house.

Ash noticed that the lioness was gaining on them and quickly had an idea. He stopped for a second as he used his back legs to kick a trashcan down to give them more time to escape their pursuer. The trashcan nearly fell on top of the lioness, but the jungle cat quickly dodged before she continued her chase as Ash quickly caught up with his two friends. The loud sound alerted someone inside the house as the backdoor opened.

The person who opened the door was a young 15 year old girl with long auburn hair and crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a pick strapless mini-dress over top a white halter top, a black hood and lilac sneakers. On her left wrist were three bracelets and around her hips was a black belt with a purple note book shaped bag attached to it.

The girl's name was Kairi and she was one of the occupants that lived on the farm along with her friends and family members. Kairi had quickly heard the crash and went outside to see what was going on.

"What's going on out here?" questioned Kairi until she quickly spotted the lioness chasing after Balto and his two friends.

Balto stopped for a second to look behind him before bolting around the corner to follow after his friends. The lioness also bolted around the corner, but was quickly stopped by Kairi shouting out her name.

"Zira, leave them alone!" shouted the 15 year old.

The lioness came back around the corner with a frown on her face as she glared at Kairi in disapproval. Kairi also glared back at the jungle cat in disapproval as well for she was sympathetic towards other creatures and she couldn't stand by when she saw a helpless creature being tortured by someone who wanted to hurt them.

"You cruel thing" said Kairi before she walked back inside while closing the door behind her.

The lioness, now known as Zira, let out a huff before sitting down on the ground while glaring out at the three disappearing forms of the wild dogs that had escaped her claws.

Scene Change

Balto and his two friends slowed to a walk when they saw that they were far enough away from the farm. Ash and Mel let out a sigh as they stopped beside their leader while they tried to catch their breath.

"That's the last time I'm going to a human's farm," muttered Ash as he looked at his two companions.

"Ditto," panted Mel with a nod of his head.

"Come on you two," said Balto as he looked at his pack members. "Let's get back to the others."

Ash and Mel nodded their heads at Balto before the trio started making their way back to their pack members. The journey back was an uneventful one as the three friends walked together in silence. It wasn't long until they came to their destination with the sun finally peaking over the horizon. The trio soon came to their pack members' hiding place where they saw Nightrun and Tiger already awake and waiting for them. Tiger had a look of anger on his face while Nightrun's face held worry and relief on it.

"Thank the stars of our ancestors," said Nightrun when she saw the trio coming towards them. "Where were you three? We we're getting worried about you."

"We're sorry we'd worried you and the others Nightrun," said Ash as he came up to the female wolf.

The two black wolves nuzzled each other for a second before pulling apart while blushing under their fur in embarrassment. Tiger glared at Balto in anger for a moment before he turned and started making his way back into the underbrush where the pack members still slept, but he quickly stopped in his tracks for a second to speak.

"Next time, when you're thinking of going out on an adventure, make sure that you take either me or Swiftkill with you," said the wolf monster without looking at his leader.

Balto blinked in surprise as he stared at Tiger for a moment before smiling: "I'll take your advice the next time old friend."

Unknown to Balto, Tiger slowly smiled as he walked back into the underbrush to tell the others that Balto, Ash and Mel were back and that they can continue their journey towards their new home.

To be continued

Hey everyone, happy New Year! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know its short but I hope you like it anyway. Have a great New Year everyone!


	6. Chapter 6

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

Reunited with old friends and arriving to the High Hills

Balto and his pack members were walking through a dried up creek bed as they made their way towards their new home. The creek was in a ditch that was hidden by the branches of trees and bushes that hung overhead to create a thick canopy above the pack members' heads. The group was walking in silence for a while when Tiger and Swiftkill suddenly stopped in their tracks as their ears picked up a sound from behind them. The others walked passed them as the two warriors turned to look over their shoulders in suspicion. A deep frown came over Swiftkill's face as she and Tiger doubled back a few steps. The others quickly noticed that two of their pack members had stop and quickly turned to look at them in confusion. Balto walked back over to Tiger and Swiftkill as he stood beside the two warriors.

"What is it?" asked the wolf/dog.

"Something is coming up the line of the riverbank," whispered Tiger to his leader before he walked forward as he stood ahead of the group.

The pack members walked back the way they came as they stood beside or behind their leader and Swiftkill with curiosity crossing over their faces. Their curiosity quickly changed to nervousness when they started to hear something moan throughout the air. Vivio quickly ran up to Nightrun and stood close to her side as she began to shiver in fear.

"What is that moan?" questioned Exile as he and the others began to tense.

"Can anyone see where it's coming from?" asked Mel.

"No, but I hear it," said Rocket. "And it sounds…big."

"Do you think it's a jungle cat?" asked Nightrun as she looked to their leader for answers.

"I don't know," answered Balto as he looked at the she-wolf behind him.

Tiger listen to the moaning for a while before his eyes widen in fear when he heard a ghostly voice on the wind. The wolf monster quickly ran back over to his pack members as he stood beside Swiftkill, who was starting to shiver in fear. Vivo started to whimper as she tried to make herself as small as possible beside Nightrun who was trying to calm her down.

"Ssshhh…quite," said Balto "I need to listen."

The group quickly did what they were told as they all listened to the moaning until they could clearly hear a voice calling out Swiftkill's and Tiger's names. Tiger and Swiftkill began to shake in fear before Tiger was the first one to speak among his pack members.

"It's the Shadow Hound of Death," spoke the wolf monster.

Everyone in the group, besides Balto, felt fear grip their hearts when they heard what Tiger had said.

The Shadow Hound of Death is the embodiment of death who takes away the old and the sick to the Land beyond Life. He is feared by many and if anyone hears their names being called out on the wind then the Shadow Hound of Death is never too far behind.

Balto had heard many tales of the Shadow Hound of Death and he knew not to let his fear get the best of him. The wolf/dog quickly turned to glared at Swiftkill and Tiger

"Don't talk like that, you'll go mad," growled Balto.

"You don't understand Balto," said Swiftkill as she and Tiger stood up and began to walk a few steps away from the group. "We all go by the will of the Hound of Death."

"She's right," replied Tiger in agreement. "When he calls to you then it means your time in this world is over."

"Stay where you are, both of you!" hissed Balto as he got the two warriors to stop.

Balto walked up to Tiger and Swiftkill to stand beside them and began to smell the air for a second before he called out towards the voice.

"W-who's there?"

Everyone quickly became tense when the voice began to grow louder as it came closer to them: "All dead…all gone!"

Suddenly, the group jumped back with a start as two male wild dogs suddenly fell in front of them. One of them was a white Kishu Ken while the other was a Great Dane. They both had many cuts on their bodies with blood and dirt matting their furs. The pack members were shocked as they quickly recognized the two dogs that were lying in front of them.

"By Frith its Captain Ben and Akame!" exclaimed Nightrun in horror.

The pack members quickly run to Ben's and Kishu Ken's, now known as Akame, aid. Naruto was the first one to make it to the two before his friends as the orange wolf started to nudge the Kishu Ken's head with his own. The others soon surrounded the two members from their old pack as Swiftkill gently started to nudge the Great Dane with her nose while Tiger stood beside her.

"Ben, Akame! Wake up it's us, Tiger and Swiftkill!" exclaimed Tiger.

The two wild dogs groaned before they slowly opened their eyes. At first their vision was a little blurry, but their visions soon cleared when they saw Balto and his pack members standing over them.

"We found you," voiced Ben weakly. "We finally found you at last."

"Akame-sensei, are you alright?" asked Naruto as he got the Kishu Ken's attention on him.

"Naruto," spoke Akame in a tired voice as he turned to look at the young orange wolf beside him. "Thank the ancestors that you're alive."

The orange wolf gave his guardian a smile as he gently nuzzled his head against the Kishu Ken's head.

"You should know that I'm too stubborn to die," Naruto joked.

Akame chuckled softly before winching in pain when his side started to hurt. Nightrun began to look over Ben and Akame to see how serious the two wild dogs' wounds were before giving her report to her leader.

"These two have taken quit a beating," said the black she-wolf. "But their wounds aren't too serious."

"But Ben and Akame are really hurt," added Toboe as the young wolf looked the Great Dane over. "Look at this wound on Ben's shoulder."

Ben mustered up enough strength to up look up at Toboe as the Great Dane stared at the young wolf that stood over him.

"I remember you," said Ben when he recognized the young wolf pup. "You were the one who saw it coming."

"Please," Swiftkill started as she looked down at the Great Dane. "Tell us what happened to both you and Akame."

"And where are the others?" asked Rocket.

"Yeah," stepped in Naruto. "Where are they?"

"I'm afraid that there aren't any others Naruto," spoke Akame as he looked up at the young wolf that he had taken in as his son.

"What do you mean 'there aren't any others?'" questioned Bonnie with a frown. "What happened to my father?"

"Everyone within our old territory…even your father Bonnie…is dead," answered Ben.

Everyone gasped in horror and disbelief when Ben told them that everyone they had left behind in their old territory was dead. Bonnie shook her head as tears started to fall down her face. It couldn't be…her father can't be gone. The she-wolf was soon overcome by sadness as tears started to stream down her face. Rocket noticed the young she-wolf's plight as he slowly walked over to Bonnie and started trying to comfort her by gently nuzzling her neck.

"Can you two tell us exactly what happened?" asked Balto.

Ben slowly, yet painfully, got himself into a more comfortable position before he started his explanation about what had happened to their old pack.

"Human's came into our territory," Ben began. "They brought their guns with them along with their machines. We didn't know how many humans had come into our territory, but there must have been at least 50 of them. The pack tried to escape, but only Akame and I were able to out run the men and their guns. We began to watch the humans for a while when we were far enough away from them so that they wouldn't spot us. They began to destroy the territory by pushing all the grass and plants into the earth while some of the other humans dragged away the bodies of our dead pack members."

Vivio began to cry against Nightrun as the black she-wolf tried to comfort the young female retriever. Mel was trying to hold back his tears, but was failing miserably as they slid down his face. The rest of the pack members hung their heads sadly after what Ben had told them. Thomas was the first one to speak among his peers.

"Men have always hated us wild dogs," growled the Border collie angrily.

"No," spoke Akame with a shake of his head as he looked at Thomas. "They'd only destroyed the territory and killed us off because we were in their way."

"Those humans will never rest until they've spoiled the earth," voiced Toboe sadly.

"We've been looking for you," said Akame as he tried to stand up but soon slumped back down to the ground in exhaustion. "We've wondered for days."

"Not to mention that the Shadow Clan wouldn't let us go," added Ben bitterly.

Balto and his group members all stared at one another when Ben mentioned the name of another wild dog clan they have never heard of before.

"They nearly tore us to pieces when we tried to escape," said Akame as he started to grow tired.

"We tried to find you," voiced Ben as he slowly let his head fall between his paws as he slipped into unconsciousness with Akame following not far behind him.

The group stood around Ben and Akame as the two members of their old pack lay on the ground, collapsed out of exhaustion. Tiger and Swiftkill frowned as they shared a look of confusion with their pack members.

"Shadow Clan," voiced Swiftkill. "What are they talking about?"

"I don't know," said Balto as he looked down at Ben and Akame. "But let's not disturb them right now. They've had a rough journey…they can tell us about it once they're full rested."

The group nodded their heads in agreement as they all started to lie down on the dirt floor of the dried up creek bed. Naruto lie down next to Akame before he began to lick a few of the Kishu Ken's wounds. Swiftkill was also doing the same with Ben as she licked the serious slash mark on the Great Dane's shoulder. Tiger, Ash, Exile and Thomas took up being lookouts while the other pack members got some rest before they would continue their journey again.

As Ben and Akame slept they began to dream about the territory of the Shadow Clan and what had transpired there.

Dreamscape: Flashback

_There were many wild dog guards in the territory as they stood watch over many other wild dogs that were of lower rank. A few of the lower members of the pack were lying on the grass while they looked around in fear at the guards that surrounded them. Ben's and Akame's visions soon shifted to a large den where a council of elders were giving trial to a young black wolf who was lying between two strong male wild dogs. They young wolf had amber brown eyes and a burn mark scar over his left eye and the side of his face. With a nod from one of the elders the two male wild dogs started to bit, scratch and tear at the young male wolf's body. The two soldiers of the Akela clan kept watching as they remembered how terrible that place was for all of the wolves and wild dog members. Their vision soon took them to a dark forest that surrounded the Shadow Clan's territory as voices began to speak from the shadows._

"_A female has a request for you, sire," spoke a male voice._

"_A female wants to see me?" question a second male voice that was much deeper than the first one._

"_Says she represents a group, sire," answered the first male voice._

_The second male let out a low growl before responding: "Bring her in."_

_A few minutes of silence passed before the second male, who was obviously the leader of the Shadow Clan, spoke again: "Your name?"_

"_Jenna, sir," spoke a female voice timidly._

"_Don't be frightened," said the leader with chuckle. "You're quite safe here."_

_There was a few seconds of silence before the leader grew impatient: "Well get on with it!"_

"_Sir," responded the female, Jenna, as the shadow of her figure came into view. "Several of us propose an expedition to start…a new territory somewhere else."_

"_A new territory?" growled the leader angrily. "That's out of the question."_

"_But you don't understand," said Jenna as she tried to get through to her leader. "The system is breaking down."_

"_Explain that," snarled the leader._

"_Some of us can't produce pups, we're over crowded."_

"_I want no further discussion!" yelled the leader._

"_We'll go as far as you like…" continued Jenna._

"_Here or anywhere else!" interrupted the leader._

_Jenna was about to protest when a male wolf glared at her, telling her that she had over stayed her welcome. The she-dog let out a sigh of defeat before slowly bowing her head in submission._

"_Thank you, sir," said Jenna in a soft voice before she made her way out of the leader's den._

"_Maugrim," growled the leader as the wolf looked towards him._

"_Yes sir," replied the wolf._

"_Have that female watched," ordered the leader as he narrowed his red eyes that pierced the darkness that hid his figure._

End of the flashback

Ben and Akame shook within their sleep as vision of the Shadow Clan territory still ran deep within their minds. Naruto and Swiftkill noticed their companions shaking as they lay beside them. Naruto started to gently nuzzle his muzzle against the Kishu Ken's shoulder as he tried to calm his mentor. Swiftkill was also doing the same thing as she tried to calm Ben down as well. Whatever had happened to the once proud warriors who had stayed in the Shadow Clan territory had really shaken them up. The group stayed in the dry creek bed for half of the day as they let Akame and Ben recuperate after their long journey to find the last few remaining members of their old pack.

It was well into the afternoon before the group continued onwards towards their new home once Ben and Akame were fully rested. The journey was an uneventful one as the pack members traveled across the land to the place where Toboe had seen in his vision. They would occasionally hunt for food and rest to regain their energy before continuing on their way. It was nearing sunset when the group finally came to their destination as they entered a lush green valley that was full of game for them to hunt but their attention was full on a hill that stood before them.

"That's it Balto!" exclaimed Toboe excitedly as he pointed towards a giant hill that toward high in front of them. "That's the place for us!"

The group trotted over to the large hill before sitting down at the base of it as they all stared up the hill that was almost as tall as a mountain.

"Let me get this straight Toboe," began Balto as he looked at his adopted brother for a second before turning his gaze back up towards the top of the hill. "You want us to climb this, is that it?"

"Yes," replied Toboe with a nod of his head.

"You have got to be kidding me," muttered Bonnie after she took one glance at the hill. "It's going to take us forever to climb that thing."

"And I don't know if Vivio and Mel can make it all the way to the top by themselves," added Nightrun with a doubtful look on her face.

"Don't worry Nightrun," said Ash in reassurance as he gave the she-wolf a smile. "If the pups get tired we can carry them the rest of the way up."

"And besides," stepped in Naruto. "We've made it this far and I think it's time we finished what we started."

"He is right comrades," said Exile with a nod of his head. "It is time that we see are new home-ski."

Balto turned to look at the rest of his pack members: "Is everyone in agreement that we should continue on what we have started?"

Everyone responded to Balto's question by nodding their heads 'yes' towards their leader. Bonnie and Nightrun were reluctant, but they too started to nod their heads that they should continue on to finish what they had started. With their decision finally made the group started to make their way up the hill towards the top where their new home will be waiting for them.

The climb was straining for some of the pack members, but they were all determined to get to the top of the hill. The group dug their claws into the soft soil of the hill as they pushed their muscles to carry them all the way to their destination. Vivio and Mel were panting as they tried to keep up with their pack members but they soon had to stop for a second to catch their breath. Ash and Nightrun came up behind the youngest members of their pack. The two black wolves nudged the golden retriever pups to give them a little encouragement and the two pups responded by getting up onto their paws as they started their climb up the hill again with Ash and Nightrun following right behind them. Bonnie was also getting tired from the long climb as she stopped to catch her breath for a minute.

"I really need to start working out more," muttered the she-wolf.

"Come on Bonnie, we're almost there!" called out Balto when he turned to look behind him to make sure that no one was going to get left behind.

Balto's words were correct for the group was almost near the top of the hill. Bonnie let out a huff of frustration before she was suddenly pushed gently from behind by Ben as the old warrior encouraged the she-wolf to continue onwards.

"Come on, you heard what Balto said" said Ben. "We're almost there so just keep moving."

"Alright, alright I'm going," grumbled Bonnie as she continued to go forward again.

The group continued to climb all the way up the hill while making sure to help their members make it up the rest of the way. It wasn't long after that that Rocket, Naruto and Thomas were the first ones to reach the top before the others. Thomas continued to go forward while Naruto and Rocket stopped near the edge of the hill as they took in the sight that was laid out before them.

"By the fangs of our ancestors," voiced Rocket as his eyes widened in wonder.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Naruto.

"What are you two looking at?" asked Nightrun as she, Ash and the two pups came to stand beside the two members of their pack.

"Take a look for your-self Nightrun," said Rocket.

Nightrun, Ash, Vivio and Mel did what their oldest member had said and what they saw amazed them to no end.

"Oh my…" breathed Nightrun as a smile spread out across her muzzle.

"Come and look!" called Ash to the rest of his pack members in excitement. "You can see the whole world from up here!"

The pack members soon arrived at their destination and were all now gathered on top of the hill as they stared out at the world in front of them. The view that they all saw took their breath away as they continued to stare out at the land in front of them.

What stood before the group was open land that stretched out for miles around. There were lush rolling green hills, mountain ranges that grew towards the sky and the view of a few human cottages that were stationed far away from the deep valley that the hill resided in.

"This is amazing," said Bonnie as she sat between Rocket and Ben.

"We made it, we finally made it," said Swiftkill with a sigh as she sat beside Tiger as she leaned against him with a smile on her face.

"We sure did Swiftkill," said Tiger with a smile as he looked down at his female companion. "We sure did."

Thomas soon came back to join the group as he stood beside Balto with an excited smile on his face.

"I found a large den for us Balto," said the Border collie. "Under that giant oak tree, it has a large chamber with no scent of enemies, death or disease."

"Oh Frith on the hill!" exclaimed Rocket as they all continued to take in the view of the world in front of them. "He made it all for us!"

"Frith may have made it," said Balto as he turned to look at his adopted brother with a proud smile. "But Toboe found it."

At long last the group's journey in searching for a new home has come to an end. They had all made it to their destination and now they can finally feel at peace, but what they didn't know was that they will be taking up another adventure that will determine the future of their new home.

To Be Continued

Sorry for the long wait guys. I hope you like this chapter and tell me what you think of it until then R&R.

White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!


	7. Chapter 7

White Hunter's Watership Down: Crossover

Meeting Braviary and asking for his help

A few days had passed since Balto and his friends had made it to their new home and life was good for them. They quickly grew use to their new surroundings and took advantage of them whenever they would go hunting for food. Vivio and Mel were able to play freely while the group would keep their eye on them to make sure that they didn't stray too far from the den. There were a few squabbles from time to time, but other than that they could feel that their new home was the safest place around.

It was a bright sunny morning on the pack's new territory as a few members ventured around their home out of curiosity while some were just exploring out of the fun of it. Naruto, Ash, Nightrun, Mel and Rocket were walking around near some tall grass as they looked around the area to see what they could find around their territory. Tiger, Balto and Swiftkill were also with them so that they could keep an eye on their companions to make sure that they didn't get into trouble.

Naruto, who had wondered away from the others, was sniffing around near a patch of tall grass as he began to take in the new smells of group's home.

"Man," muttered Naruto to himself with his nose close to the ground. "Who would have known that a new home could have so many new smells?"

Naruto continued looking around the area not knowing that he was being watched by something that was hidden behind the tall blades of grass. The orange wolf continued to sniff around for a moment when his head quickly shot up along with his ears. Naruto had heard a strange noise that sounded like clicking.

"What was that?" voiced Naruto.

Suddenly the young wolf was startled out of his wits when a loud screech sounded behind him. Naruto jumped about two feet into the air before he took off in a mad dash where he met up with his other pack members and ran into Rocket before he could even stop.

"Hey, watch where you're going Naruto!" exclaimed Rocket as he and Naruto untangled themselves from each other.

"What's going on?" asked Nightrun as she and the others walked over to see what the commotion was.

"G-guys," stuttered Naruto as he pointed behind him. "I don't think w-we're the only o-ones on here."

The others turned their attention to the tall grass that Naruto was pointing to. Tiger frowned as he glared at the tall grass that the young wolf had been walking around a few minutes ago before he slowly walked forward to have a closer inspection of it. The wolf monster crept closer to the tall grass before stopping a few feet from it. Tiger raised his nose up to the wind and the scent that he caught confused him to no end. Suddenly, as he took another step forward, a strange head shot out as it let out a loud screech which startled the tiger monster to hightail it back to his group members.

"BRAVIARY!" screeched the bird before it weakly spoke its next words before its head flopped down to the ground. "Make way!"

"Whoa," voiced Rocket as he and the other looked at the creature that lay before them.

"What is that?" asked Swiftkill curiously.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Balto.

"It's some kind of a bird," spoke Tiger as he stood beside Swiftkill.

"A really big bird," added Naruto.

Indeed it was a bird that the group was looking at. The bird's face and underside were a navy blue, while its back and the dorsal sides of its wings were a dark red. The bird had a bright blue cere above its yellow beak, from which extends a red, three-pointed crest. White plumes sprouted from each point of the crest, and similar feathers were present on the bird's face. Along with the feathery mane on the back of its head and neck, these features reminded the group of the Native-American war bonnet that the Native-American humans had use to wore a long time ago. The bird's legs were feathered down to its feet, ending in spiky feathers on the upper portions of the bird's large talons. The claws on the bird's feet were tipped with black nails. Lastly the bird's tail feathers were mainly red, with a blue tip and a yellow subterminal band.

Balto slowly took a few steps towards the bird before he spoke to it: "Are you hurt?"

The bird's reply to Balto's question was another screech before its head fell back down to the ground again.

"We'll take that…as a yes," said Naruto in a low voice.

"The poor thing," said Nightrun as she stood beside Ash while she examined it at a safe distance. "It must have gotten itself tangled up in some fight with another animal."

"You're probably right," said Ash as he looked at the she-wolf with a sad frown.

"Um…putting all worry aside, what are we going to do with it?" questioned Rocket.

"I think I've got an idea," answered Balto as he looked at his group members. "Swiftkill see if you and Tiger can find some worms."

"Worms?" echoed Swiftkill with a look of disgust. "Us dig for worms, what for, for Frith's sake?"

The bird quickly raised up its head again as it squawked at the group members in a strange accent: "I get up plenty soon!"

The group only raised an eyebrow at the bird before they all huddled together as they spoke quietly to one another.

"Why exactly do you want Tiger and Swiftkill to dig for worms?" whispered Ash out of curiosity.

"Well he's hurt and we should help him," replied Balto as he answered Ash's question.

"A bird, what for?" growled Tiger as he glanced over at the bird with a frown before looking at his leader again.

Balto rolled his eyes at Tiger before he stepped away from the group as he carefully made his way over to the bird again. The wolf/dog was soon two feet away from the bird before he began to speak with it.

"We help you," said Balto as he gave the bird a gentle smile.

What he got as a response surprised him as the bird suddenly screeched at him in anger and frustration.

"BACK OFF!" yelled the bird with Balto flinching backwards as he went into a sitting position in front of the bird.

The bird gave him a look before it slowly stood up and Balto could see that the bird was 4' 11' in height as it stood in front of him. He also noticed how the bird's wing left wing hung limply down to the ground.

The bird seemed to have calmed down a little before it spoke again: "What for help me?"

Nightrun was the first to ask the bird a question when she saw the limp wing: "What happened to you?"

"Damn cat, jumped me farm cat!" squawked the bird angrily.

"We know her," muttered Mel when he realized that the bird was talking about Zira.

The group watched as the bird wobbled a little bit on its feet before it fell to the ground. Balto stepped towards the bird again and began to speak to it.

"We take you to den," said Balto. "We help you heal wing."

"Go way!" exclaimed the bird as he waved his right wing for Balto to give him space before he stood back up onto his feet again while he examined his injured wing. "Wing no good, but I can walk plenty good."

As if to prove his point the bird took a step forward before he suddenly toppled down to the ground again. Soon Ash, Nightrun, Mel, Rocket, Tiger, Naruto and Swiftkill all stood around the bird in concern before the bird looked at Balto with a much calmer expression on his face.

"Is long way?" questioned the bird.

"No," replied Nightrun with a shake of her head. "Our den is just up this hill, not far."

"Good," the bird sighed in relief.

"Okay now we have a question for you," spoke Naruto as he decided to get straight to the point.

"Where you come from?" asked Tiger in a demanding voice.

"From big, big mountain!" squawked the bird as he replied to Tiger's question before he unsteadily got back up onto his feet again "My home by…big mountain."

The group quickly helped the bird as they started to take him back to their den. As they were walking towards their home, Swiftkill asked the bird another question.

"What's your name stranger?" she asked.

"Braviary," answered the bird weakly as they walked. "I am called Braviary."

"That's an original name," muttered Naruto with a chuckle.

The group soon got back to their den where all their other pack members were waiting for them and Balto quickly explained to them about the bird they had found. Some of the group members were a little unsure about having such a large bird living in their territory, but soon grew use to Braviary's presence over time. They all made a large lobby for the bird between the roots of the tree. A few days have passed since Braviary's arrival and the bird Pokémon had gotten used to living with the wild dog clan as he sat recovering at the base of the giant oak tree.

It was a sunny afternoon within the pack's new territory and everyone was just doing whatever they felt like doing. Braviary was sitting in his lobby like home when he noticed two butterflies fluttering passed him. He watched them for a few seconds before he caught one of the butterflies out of the air with his beak and swallowed it whole as the bird satisfied his hunger, for a while at least. Suddenly, Braviary noticed Vivio and Mel being chased out of the den by Naruto in a playful game of tag. The orange wolf chased the two pups around the tree before leaping over them as he blocked their path for a second. The pups quickly ran off in a different direction with Naruto following right behind them. Not too far away from the playful trio were a few of their pack members who were all sunbathing in an open field of grass together. Tiger and Swiftkill were sleeping together with the she-wolf lying her head down on the wolf monster's shoulders while they enjoyed each other's company for the first time since leaving their old home. Ash and Nightrun were lying on the ground with their shoulders touching each other while the napped. Thomas was lying on his side as he enjoyed the sun shining down on him from above. He stretched out his left back leg for a second before he settled back down again with a sigh.

Balto was lying down beside Toboe before he slowly raised his head up from his paws as he looked around to see if any more of his pack members were around. He spotted Bonnie sitting on a boulder by herself as she was cleaning off a few specks of dirt that clung to her fur. Balto frowned as he thought about the only three adult female members of his pack before letting out a sigh that caught the attention of Ash. The black wolf lifted his head up from his paws as he looked towards his leader with a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong Balto?" asked Ash curiously.

"Well Ash it's complicated," said Balto as he began to answer Ash's question. "I thought everything would be fine once we got here, but it's not. Now that we're here I find not that simple."

Tiger, Swiftkill, Thomas, Toboe and Nightrun all heard what their leader had said as they now turn their attention on the wolf/dog with questioning looks on their faces.

"What do you mean?" spoke Tiger lazily with a raised eyebrow. "This place is as safe as Toboe said it would be."

"He's right," said Nightrun as she lifted her head from her paws. "I've never felt so peaceful in all my life, it's almost like we found a paradise just for us."

"Yes," said Thomas in agreement as he lifted his head and turned his attention on Naruto and the two pups playing together. "I think we've done very well for ourselves."

"True," muttered Balto but he quickly added the problem that he was thinking of to his group. "But we don't have enough females within our pack."

"Females?" echoed Swiftkill with a frown before she raised her head up in realization, "Females!"

"I don't see what the problem is," said Nightrun as she and Ash glanced at each other for a second. "I mean, three of us she-wolves should be enough to produce pups right?"

"Yes, but there's also the problem of use males fighting over you three," added Balto. "I want to avoid as much conflict within this pack as much as I can without anyone killing each other."

"So that's why you went to that farm we passed a few days ago," said Toboe as he now understood what his adopted brother was saying.

"I thought that we might be able to get some of those dogs to join us," said Balto as he looked down at his brother.

"What's to be done then Balto?" asked Thomas. "Set off again?"

"And where?" added Tiger as he lifted his head up from his paws. "There hasn't been a sniff of another wild-dog since we've got here."

"Well we can't just pick a random direction without knowing where to look," spoke Swiftkill as she frowned in thought.

Balto frowned as well until an idea came to him when he looked towards the Pokémon that they were housing as their guest.

"The bird," whispered Balto with a smile on his face. "Braviary…we'll get the bird to look for us."

The other's brightened up at the idea their leader had suggested as they all turned their attention towards the bird Pokémon that just let out a yawn before he shook himself. Ash turned to look at Balto with a smirk appearing on his muzzle.

"Balto, you are one sly dog," said the black he-wolf.

Two Days Later

Braviary was sitting in his lobby as usual, but he was looking around at the scenery in front of him with a frown on his beak not knowing that Tiger was coming up behind him through the tunnel that connected with the bird's lobby.

The bird continued to look around while shifting his body once in a while from where he sat: "What home, this hole? Where are mates, where are chicks?"

Behind Braviary Tiger was trying to get passed the bird Pokémon, but was having no such luck at the bird kept moving around in front of him.

"Mates…make eggs," continued Braviary while still not noticing the wolf monster behind him. "Mates sit on eggs, hatch eggs…many eggs. We feed chicks. Egg robbers come we fight!"

Tiger, finally losing patience, slowly back up in the tunnel while crouching low to the ground a bit before running forward and ramming into the bird Pokémon. Braviary started squawking in utter shock and surprise as Tiger slipped passed underneath him. The bird continued to squawk angrily at Tiger, who sat before him unfazed by the bird's complaint, before the Pokémon finally calmed down and started scolding the group that now stood or sat before him.

"You stupid doggies!" yelled Braviary as he glared at the wild-dogs in front of him. "You've got no mates!"

"No kidding genius," muttered Bonnie as she rolled her eyes up towards the sky.

"Where are mates?!" screeched Braviary as he stuck his head down the tunnel that connected to his lobby. "Where are…CHICKS?!"

The bird jumped away from his lobby before he turned to glare at Tiger as raised his left wing and started to brush it back and forth like a feather duster across the wolf monster's face.

"Plenty trouble for you!" exclaimed Braviary as Tiger quickly back away from the bird with an annoyed look on his face. "You need mates!"

Tiger shook himself for a second before he turned to smirk at both Balto and Swiftkill.

"It's working Balto," whispered the wolf monster as the wolf/dog nodded his head in agreement.

Tiger soon turned to look back at Braviary as the bird continued his rant on the pack members.

"You got no brains!" exclaimed the bird as he shook his head from side to side. "You no plan, you need mates for plan! Listen!"

Tiger leaned back as Braviary started shaking his left wing at him before the bird folded it back up against his side.

"I have plan for you," continued the bird before he showed the group that his left was okay. "Wing better, I go fly."

As if to make his point clear the bird started to beat his wings as he lifted himself a few feet up off the ground while creating a gust of wind that blew against Tiger's body.

"Fly for you!" said Braviary before he landed back down in front of the pack members. "And I find mates."

"What a splendid idea Braviary," spoke Balto in fake excitement while a smirk came across his muzzle. "How clever of you to think of it, you very fine bird."

Braviary nodded his head in agreement to the wolf/dog's words as he walked past the pack members with Balto following behind him.

"Okay enough praise!" exclaimed Naruto as he trotted after Balto and Braviary. "When will you be able to fly to over grown feather duster?"

Naruto and Balto quickly backed up when Braviary turned towards them sharply while giving the orange wolf a glare at the insult that had been thrown at him before turning away from them.

"I fly any time puff-ball," responded Braviary as he insulted Naruto. "Stand back!"

Naruto let out a growl as he glared at the bird in front of him while Vivio and Mel walked up to the Pokémon out of curiosity before they quickly bolted away from Braviary when the bird ordered them to stand back. Braviary unfolded his wings as he checked them out to see if they were in working order before turning back to look at wild-dogs again.

"When I fly…Stand back; stand back! Back, back!"

Braviary started to jog away from the group as he gained some distance between himself and the wild-dogs: "I need room!"

The pack members quickly did as they were told as they gave Braviary as much room as he needed, except for Vivio and Mel who were curious to see how the bird Pokémon would fly. Braviary began to check his wings while priming them before he started his test run.

"Wings good, feathers clean," muttered Braviary to himself before he spread his wings as far out to his sides as he could. "I soar…I glide…I set!"

At the word 'set' Braviary suddenly turned towards where the pack members were watching him and began to take a running start. Vivio and Mel were started when they saw that the bird Pokémon was heading towards them before they both started running back towards their pack members with Braviary coming up right behind them. Balto and his group members were watching the bird coming running towards them before they quickly split up as they ran in different directions to avoid getting run over by Braviary. Vivio and Mel made a sharp turn as they got out of the bird Pokémon's path as Braviary soon made a leap as he launched himself up into the air.

Vivio and Mel rejoined their group as the pack members stood or sat while they watched the bird Pokémon starting to fly higher up into the sky, but he suddenly drop out of view of the wild-dogs' vision for a second. The group gasped in fear and worry, but they were soon relieved when they saw Braviary appear in front of them again as the bird Pokémon flew higher up into the sky. He was soon gliding around in the sky as he circled above the pack's heads.

"And I soar!" screeched Braviary out of joy.

Balto and his pack members howled and cheered for the Pokémon they had winded up befriending only for a few days. They all watch for a while as Braviary continued to circle around overhead before the bird Pokémon finally took off in a random direction to find what the clan was looking for.

"I hope he comes back with good news," said Nightrun as she sat beside Ash.

"We hope so too Nightrun," spoke Balto while not taking his eyes off from the sky. "We hope so too."

To Be Continued


End file.
